Call to businesses - give our most disadvantaged youth chance in your workforce

27th October 2017

A Call to Arms has been issued to SCR businesses by Sheffield Futures: help change the lives of our most disadvantaged young people by taking them into your workforce.

 The appeal is from Sheffield Futures-lead Talent Match, a programme which has been transforming the lives of young NEETS for the last four years. Its coaches work one-to-one to help with their personal struggles, enable them to gain confidence, qualifications and work experience - and support them and their employer for many months. This hand-holding scheme has already nurtured 622 disadvantaged 18-25 year olds who had been out of work for more than a year into employment across South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire. A further 1,300 are currently being helped into education, training and voluntary work. But despite being recognised as one of the top five projects of its kind across the UK, Talent Match SCR will come to an end in December 2018 unless new funding is found. Leaders of the project, Sheffield Futures, have to find the money to continue once Big Lottery funding runs out and are intent on maximising their work while they still have the means. Attracting more employers is key. Since Talent Match began in 2013, 189 firms from the region's voluntary and private sectors have got onboard. And in the last 18 months, 165 companies in the SCR have signed up. -But we need more - we have young clients waiting right now for work experience placements that can change their lives, said Gail Gibbons, Chief Executive Officer at Sheffield Futures, the young people's charity running Talent Match. -These people are going to be left behind without help to change their lives and secure brighter futures by joining the local workforce.  -Getting them off benefits and into work is good for the public purse, but it also enables these young people to reach for dreams they never thought were possible. And these young people are an untapped resource; they can bring real value to the region's workforce.  Numerous Talent Match clients are currently in unpaid placements and 60 are employed with local companies on Wage Subsidy, an important offer from the programme, which enables a wage to be paid for up to six months. Of 20 whose Wage Subsidy has ended, seven have been taken on by their employer. Others have been able to use their experience of work to find another job, one is now an apprentice and another has set up in business. Said Ms Gibbons: -Employer engagement is critical. We are looking for caring employers we can work with to offer quality placements.  -We understand companies may feel it's a risk to take on young people who do not have much work experience. But we are there to support them and the young person and the reward is two-fold; many companies have jobs they always struggle to fill and successful company owners tell us they didn't have the best start in life and want to give someone a helping hand.  Employers already signed up include 20 who now also act as Employer Champions, and Robert Woodhead Construction of Chesterfield, who are now on Talent Match's strategic board. Zenza Limited, a bookkeeping payroll and credit control provider in South Yorkshire has been working with Talent Match since the beginning of the year. Leeann Shentall, Credit Control Manager said: -We believe in giving chances to those that want chances. We like to see people develop and are happy we are in a position to make that happen. We know that there are young people that have a true desire to work, but need an opportunity.  Sheffield Futures is appealing to local authorities, employers, funders, stakeholders and social investors to back their fight for survival and a No One Left Behind conference is being staged at Rotherham's New York Stadium on November 10th 2017. Talent Match's young success stories will take to the stage to tell their stories and regional employers will also speak about the positive impact on their workforces. Contact talent.match@sheffieldfutures.org.