Youth unemployment figures in Scotland have dropped significantly over the past few years but currently there are still about 4,000 16-24 year olds who have been unemployed for 12 months or more.
Many of these young people remain long-term unemployed because they lack the very basic life skills needed to begin working towards securing and sustaining a job. Many are also from disadvantaged backgrounds. They are often dealing with one or more of the following: poverty, alcohol and drug addiction, poor family relationships, mental health issues, learning and housing issues. The majority also have had little or no work experience.
Research from our funding partner Impetus has shown in the UK disadvantaged young people are twice as likely to be out of education, employment and training (NEET) as their better-off peers.
There are many agencies getting young people ready for work but most of those young adults already have the soft skills to engage in training or to start working.
Venture Trust supports individuals who require significant investment to achieve greater stability – addressing chaotic or destructive behaviours so they can become ready for training and employment so that they can sustain a job.
Our personal development programme for young people – Inspiring Young Futures – and similar programmes for adults who have also experienced difficult life circumstances, helps participants set out and achieve their goals, grow in confidence and stability. We help participants to work on skills such as establishing trust, personal boundaries, consequential thinking, problem-solving, dealing with challenging situations, and responsibility and accountability. These life skills need to be acquired before long-term unemployment and the issues this brings can be tackled.
After completing the personal development programme, young people are offered the chance to take part in our CashBack Change Cycle employability programme. The programme – funded by the Scottish Government’s Cashback for Communities which takes funds recovered from the proceeds of crime and invests them to deliver activities and opportunities for disadvantaged young people – is a three-week course which covers employability sessions such as IT, CV writing, budgeting skills, interview skills, self-presentation skills, and mock interviews. It also includes a bicycle construction and maintenance workshop experience and a short wilderness residential that has work-related tasks, and biking. The skills that are vital for work.
Participants learn about responsibility and getting up to be at a job Monday to Friday. They get to keep the bike they have built and use it for job hunting, accessing services, training, getting to work, and leisure.
The support offered by Venture Trust and other organisations working with disadvantaged people is imperative for closing employment gaps. For those without the opportunity to escape long-term unemployment, it will be hard to break the cycle of feeling hopeless and overcome issues like depression, financial worries, homelessness, addiction, and involvement with the criminal justice system.
Stuart McMillan is an Operations Manager at Venture Trust.
For more information about Venture Trust visit: www.venturetrust.org.uk
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