Summary: Fledglink, with the support of the Careers and Enterprise Company, are running an alternative to UCAS clearing campaign on A-level results day to support students and young people who: 

• Don’t have anything lined up yet 
• Didn’t get the grades they anticipated and so can’t do what they planned to do 
• Aren’t sure if they even want to go to uni anymore but are scared they might not have an alternative 
• Are deferring uni for a year to see what the world looks like in 12 months time 

Fledglink are looking for employers who are still recruiting apprentices and trainees for autumn or have an ‘always-on’ recruitment campaign, have full-time jobs for school leavers, willing to offer work experience opportunities or employability/skills courses. Fledglink want to work with employers to get as many opportunities in front of school leavers and NEET young people as possible!

Find out more by contacting ellie@fledglink.com  by Friday 7th August.

Explore Fledglink here 

Summary: 

Fledglink app hosts free online early career development sessions for ‘lost’ Gen-Z.

In response to both the current COVID-19 pandemic and their findings from a new survey of Generation-Z which found that half of the respondents were confused and concerned about their futures – Fledglink, a Gen-Z careers mobile app – has launched an engaging timetable of free online early-careers development sessions to aide young people in navigating their next employment steps at this worrying time. With school closures, cancellations of careers events and a rapidly evolving recruitment landscape, Fledglink has responded by developing a timetable of online learning sessions, providing an accessible way for educational services to engage Gen-Z in early careers development in the current socially-distanced environment. Founder and CEO of Fledglink, Ellie Yell commented: “In an unprecedented time when uncertainty about the future is being exacerbated for our young people, it is vital that we do all we can to provide meaningful and accessible content to not only ease the anxieties that COVID-19 is causing Gen-Z, but to also help in building a positive and connected post-coronavirus future for this generation”.

Learn Now follows Fledglink’s release of the results of its extensive survey of 1,131 young people. The study found that 49% reported feeling confused and lost about their future; while 31% prioritised finding the right job and choosing the right career path as the main issue they needed to seek advice on. Parents are still seen as the biggest influencers when it comes to guidance, with 52% of respondents saying that they would still go to their parents first for advice about what to do in the future. The uncertain effects that the current pandemic will have on the future of employment for young people mean it is now more important than ever that appropriate careers advice is made accessible for all to avoid a potential further division in attainment and social class.

Fledglink’s live and on-demand timetable of virtual events provides young people with the opportunity to access early careers information made specifically for them. The timetabled days provide a personalisable structure that young people can jump in and out of when best suits them. With all the sessions geared towards navigating different aspects of early careers in a fun and engaging way, there are plenty of opportunities for young people to connect, upskill and build confidence in their futures.

The variety of different types of content ensure that all young people have the chance to engage in a way that suits them. They have access to 1-to-1 careers guidance, CV clinics, recorded and live workshops and wellbeing sessions. They will also have the opportunity to interact with recruiters and employers, learn about career paths from inspirational characters, develop new skills to help them in the world of work and improve their overall employability.

Fledglink’s Learn Now timetable is accessible from their website (https://fledglink.com/learn-now/). To keep up with daily updates and live events, the Fledglink Instagram account (@fledglinkapp) and other social media channels will be promoting and hosting many of the sessions. For free access to all of Fledglink’s digital resources, young people can download and sign up to the mobile app too.

Summary: Over the summer Skanska will be hosting a webinar mini-Series for those interested in Early Careers in Construction, Engineering, Environment and Digital roles.

Join Skanska for informal weekly summer webinars to find out more about the variety of work that they do, what early careers opportunities are available and how to make your job application stand out. Each session is optional but those that attend all of them will receive a certificate of completion. There will be opportunities to take part in games and challenges which we will set each week.

To register or find out more, click here.

Summary: Movement to Work has analysed the latest Claimant Count Data to understand the impact from lock down on youth employment. 

Headlines from June:

• Compared with March 2020 over 485,000 more 18-29 year olds are now claiming benefits, an increase of 119%;
• June 2020 saw a one month rise of 1% in benefit claims from 18-29 year olds. This rise was relatively small compared with the increases in May (30%) and April (67%);
• Between 14 May and 11 June claims from 18-24 year olds rose by 16,000 (+3%) and claims from 25-29 year olds fell by 4,000 (-1%);
• The level of increase in different regions remained stable in June 2020.

You can find out what the claimant numbers are, and how they’ve changed in the areas where you work by using our impact map.

Movement to Work has drawn this analysis from the data available via Nomis, using the non-seasonally adjusted data set: ‘Claimant count by gender and age’.

You can also read the full Office of National Statistics update on the latest claimant count figures here.

Summary: The Open University is sponsoring a new TrainingZone hub to support Learning and Development (L&D) practitioners in developing a successful flexible learning approach. There has been a shift towards flexible learning in recent times, but the impact of COVID-19 on the modern, post-pandemic workforce has sped up this change.  

Find out more here 

Summary: 

Key4Life’s mission is to reduce youth re-offending through the delivery of an innovative rehabilitation programme to those in prison and those at risk of going to prison. Key4Life sympathises with the considerable challenges many are facing at this unprecedented moment in history with COVID-19. Not least our young men, who have either been in prison or are at risk of going to prison. They are currently providing online support to our men, mentors, and companies to help with riding the wave at this difficult time. 

Key4Life invites you to an online lunchtime seminar on Wednesday 22nd July – 1 to 2pm, hosted by Carole Walker, who worked for many years as a BBC political news correspondent. This promises to be a fascinating insight into the challenges and opportunities facing the workplace today. It will be an opportunity to hear from various industry leaders, hear the stories of a few of Key4Life’s young men and a chance to share opinions and ideas. Key4Life will also be talking about their Younited Flag Campaign.

To find out more and register, contact india.oakley.smith@key4life.org.uk 

Summary: 

If you’re about to kick-start your job search, you may be feeling completely overwhelmed. Careermap.co.uk, with the support of Capgemini and QA, have put together a fully comprehensive guide to support young people and graduates into the world of work. From apprenticeships to a part-time job or a graduate scheme, there is so much to choose from. Find out more about how you can get your first job here.

Movement to Work and CareermapLive recently joined forces to discuss the world of education and social mobility. Matt Harris, Head of Insights and Innovation at Movement to Work, shared insights into the challenges young people are facing right now, the importance of work experience and how to find it. To watch the recording, click here.

Movement to Work welcomes the substantial measures announced today by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to support everyone, particularly those who are just beginning their careers, into quality work.  Here is a summary of the most significant measures for Movement to Work members and partners and how we want to collaborate with the government to ensure their success.

Key measures for young people

Kickstart Scheme– The Government has committed up to £2.1bn for Great Britain, to fund the direct creation of 300,000 high quality jobs for 18-24 year olds lasting 6 months. 

In the Chancellor’s speech today he said that employers wanting to use the scheme will need to provide evidence that the new jobs created:

• Are additional
• Offer at least 25 hours per week at the national minimum wage
• Offer young people training and support to secure a permanent job

The funding available for each job will cover 100% of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week, plus the associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions.

Sector Based Work Academies– the government will provide an additional £17 million this year to triple the number of sector-based work academy placements in England.

Apprenticeships– The government will invest up to £1.6bn to fund up to 100,000 incentive payments to employers taking on apprentices between 1st August 2020 and 31st January 2021, including:

• a new payment of £2,000 to employers in England for each new apprentice they hire aged under 25, and 
• a £1,500 payment for each new apprentice they hire aged 25 and over.

The government’s Plan for Jobs 2020 says that these measures will sit alongside a guaranteed foundation of support through an expanded Youth Offer delivered through DWP, for all those aged 18-24 in the Intensive Work Search group in Universal Credit.

We welcome these new steps to respond to the damage done to youth employment during the pandemic.  We are keen to work with the government to understand in more detail how employers can use these schemes to support young people into employment.

Additional labour market measures:

Alongside these measures to target the youth labour market, the government has also announced:

Funding for National Careers Service- an additional £32 million funding over the next 2 years so that 269,000 more people in England can receive personalised advice on training and work.

A job finding support service- £40 million to fund private sector capacity to introduce an online job finding, one-to-one service in England, for those who have been unemployed for less than three months.

Boosting the Flexible Support Fund- £150 million increased funding in Great Britain, providing local support to claimants by removing barriers to work such as travel expenses for attending interviews.

In addition to the policies outlined in the Plan for Jobs, the government intends to support those who are out of work for a longer period with a new, large-scale employment support offer. Further details are expected shortly.  

Movement to Work response

We welcome these announcements and they represent a great show of commitment by the government to supporting young people into work following the COVID crisis.

We know many young people face specific barriers to success in the workplace (including mental health, personal confidence, basic skills and other challenges.) Many of these barriers are likely to have become more persistent in the last few months, as lockdown has kept young people away from work and education.  

We hope that we can work with the government and employers to make sure that these measures will support the most excluded young people to access these new opportunities and overcome the barriers they face.

25-29 year olds– An extra 220,000 25-29 year olds claiming benefits in the first two months of lockdown.  This rate of increase (127%) was much greater than for 18-24 year olds and other groups. We will continue working with the government, our employers and partners to make sure this group don’t miss out as we seek to get the country back to work.

Summary: Mencap is tendering for a large contract with the Greater London Authority to help NEET young people with learning disabilities or difficulties into work. They are keen to identify organisations that would be willing to commit to exploring opportunities should they win the bid. If your organisation could offer work experience, job opportunities or could support the programme in other ways, please contact mark.capper@mencap.org.uk for application details no later than Friday 10th July.

If you would like to find out more please contact debs.gordon@movementtowork.com