Barclays

Skill Up, Step Up was a £1m programme launched in 2021 to upskill unemployed and disadvantaged young Londoners so they can be “work ready” and step up into sustainable jobs or apprenticeships. The programme was a partnership between Barclays LifeSkills, Evening Standard and the Independent.

The Skill Up, Step Up programme was funded by Barclays and managed by the London Community Foundation. It provided grant funding over two years for five outstanding handpicked charities that provide disadvantaged jobless young Londoners with employability skills and wrap-around care to get them into the labour market and transform their lives:

Springboard

Central London-based Springboard was established in 1990 to support the hospitality, leisure and tourism industry and those seeking employment within it. Its aims range from providing advice, training and skills courses to young people under 25, through to relieving poverty and unemployment. It also tackles misrepresentation of the viability of the hospitality, leisure and tourism industries as a career choice, and the resulting staff and skill shortages. As part of this programme, they provided young people with jobs in the hospitality industry (hotels, restaurants, bars, leisure and tourism) via a 3-6 week programme that included one-to-one mentoring, soft skill and employability development (confidence, work attitude, CVs, interview skills, time management), practical industry and hard skills, including food safety and customer service, as well as work experience.

City Gateway

An East London charity working with young people, women and families to give them the skills, experience and qualifications they need to achieve their ambitions. Their role in the programme was to provide young people with a 12-week employability programme, including digital skills and a work placement. This extended to up to 20 weeks if they need English or Maths boosters. The programme placed these young people in entry-level positions, including apprenticeships in a wide range of sectors.

First Rung

East-London charity, First Rung, provides vocational training for young people who may have struggled at school and lack confidence. It helps supports them through apprenticeships which often lead to full-time employment. But it also helps them with skills such as how to write a CV, how to behave in an interview and how to present themselves online. Students received wrap-around support and are provided with free breakfast and lunch at their training centres in Enfield and Brent. Their travel costs are also paid for, there is help with housing problems, and counselling is available.

2020 Change

A youth empowerment organisation renowned for helping young people realise their true potential and cultivate the right mindset to engage with today’s changing society. Based in Covent Garden, the group takes jobless youths aged 17-30 - from under-represented ethnic groups or with low socio-economic backgrounds - and makes them work-ready. They do this through their part-time 10-week “I Am Change” programme, which works on “mindset adjustment” and teaches corporate etiquette, mindfulness, financial literacy and digital skills as well as traditional CV and interview skills. The course includes TV and film workshops and they provide links to the creative industries through their Mentor Match Up programme.

Resurgo

A Hammersmith-based employability charity, operating out of 12 centres, eight in London. This charity works annually with 700 Londoners, aged 16-24, who face serious barriers to work. Their six-week Spear Programme develops mindset, skills and attitude to enter employment, including building resilience and managing emotions. Trainees get a year of follow-on support and access to employment opportunities with corporate partners via Resurgo “hire me” events.