Ready to work

The Pitch

Problem statement

Three of the boroughs that surround the East Village are statistically the poorest in London, with a poverty rate of over 35% of its residents numbered as the poorest in the capital (Tower Hamlets 39% Newham 37%, and Hackney 36%). Covid has affected young people’s employment opportunities. According to the Guardian, 80% of jobs lost due to Covid belonged to the under-35 age bracket. Young people know that the employment market is harder, and this and the mental health impact of Covid has reduced their confidence. There is a danger that young people from vulnerable communities will get left behind, our project will intervene early and provide a positive environment where they can thrive.

Solution

‘Ready to Work’ is a 6 weeks employability, wellbeing & resilience project for young people aged 17 to 25 yrs old. We will work holistically with the young people so that the harmful effects of the past 2 years can be reduced. There will be 2 hours of group work covering employability skills. This will be followed by 50 mins one-to-one session with a therapeutic coach. Participants will work with their coaches to identify personal barriers to securing employment and will be equipped with the tools to improve their mental wellbeing and confidence. The grant will cover the cost of resources for the workshops and the fees of the therapeutic coaches delivering one-to-one sessions.

Why are we best placed to deliver?

We have been delivering employability workshops since 2019 to young people living in 4 boroughs surrounding East Village. During lockdown we pivoted our work online and distributed food to young people and their families that expressed additional needs. We were contracted to deliver similar workshops in Waltham Forest with 25 young people for 6 months. At the end of the project, 24 young people remained engaged and 14 transitioned into employment. We also developed and sustained relationships with young people who are often described as 'hard to reach', we identified additional needs such as mental health issues which had a major impact on whether a young person remained in employment.

Focus Areas

Delivery plan

Budget breakdown

Beneficiaries

10 people

Who will benefit

Expected impact

The Trauma Informed Coaches and volunteers will work with the young people to identify barriers to securing employment, and provided them with the tools to improve their wellbeing and building their confidence. The workshops will increase wellbeing and resilience among the group, whose mental health has also been impacted by Covid. The support we provide will move the young people closer to the job market. We anticipate that 50% of the young people will secure a job or training as an outcome of the project. Though this project is new, it builds on a pilot project that we have run previously with 25 young people over 6 months, 24 remained engaged and 14 secured employment and training. Since the start of Vine Connect Community Organisation in 2019, we have engaged with 93 young people with a team of 6 volunteers. This grant will enable us to improve the work we we are already doing by providing additional mental wellbeing support that is so desperately needed.

Track record

"I came in contact with Vine through my personal Key-worker whilst living in a semi-independent care home. I am now working in the admin department for a company and I can say that the Vine Connect team were instrumental in me gaining the confidence to gain this current position". (Michaela, 17 years old) "David was around and supported me during the death of a good friend to knife crime and after I got stabbed two years later, he was one of the first people I contacted. Through the consistent support of Vine I have secured a full time night Job with Amazon and I’m preparing to complete my second year of study in a BA Business course". (Wilfred, 24 years old)

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