Nottingham City Council, its partners and key local organisations are ambitious about supporting young people to get into training and employment and realise their full potential.
Five local organisations, part financed by the European Union through the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) are working together to provide local young people with opportunities to find the training they need to succeed.
The organisations also work together to give wrap around support which breaks down any barriers the young people face, such as traveling costs, and gives them the training, experience, confidence and mentoring support they need to progress into the world of work.
Nottingham City Council has used the additional funding to enhance the NottinghamJobs service’s offer to young people and employers and local businesses. This unique partnership between Nottingham City Council, Futures and the DWP supports local businesses to create opportunities for Nottingham residents of all ages.
The Nottingham YEI Partnership Board which is chaired by Councillor Sam Webster plays a vital role in the integration of this work to ensure that rather than competing to support young people, the organisations work together to move individuals between their services, enabling their next steps in a single journey into education and employment.
Councillor Sam Webster, Portfolio Holder for Education, Employment and Skills, said, “Nottingham City Council recognise that many young people, especially those who are not in education, employment or training, face significant challenges to finding suitable and rewarding training and employment opportunities.
“As funding for council services is cut back it’s important for the council to work with other organisations based in the City to offer residents access to the services which will help them overcome barriers and achieve their full potential.
“Working closely with organisations that share our ethos and ambition to give local young people the best chances in life allows us to give them the opportunities they need to flourish and is part of the work we continue to do to reduce unemployment in Nottingham.”
The five organisations that work alongside the City Council are:
- Futures – providing high-quality careers advice, employment training and apprenticeships to young people and adults and intensive careers support for young people from low-income families
- DBC Training – Delivering Better Careers, Candidates and Companies. We offer ‘Getin2’ programmes in Construction, IT, Admin, Beauty, Hospitality & Catering, Enterprise, Healthcare and Music. Our offer includes tasters, skills and work trails for 15-29 year olds who are NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) and who have a designated team to source apprenticeship and traineeship vacancies
- NBV – who support 18-29 year olds who are considering self-employment by giving them intensive one to one support from an experienced business adviser, business mentoring and grant funding for trading businesses
- Sustrans – who help 16-29 year olds overcome travel barriers by providing financial support with transport to education and training, travel advice and schemes to promote public and sustainable transport
- Learn by Design’s ‘Get on Track’ Programme – which works with the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust providing Olympic and Paralympic athletes to support young people aged 16-25 who are not in Education, Employment or Training to develop confidence and self-belief, communication and teamwork skills, Resilience and life aspirations