Council wins bid to help young people become ‘work ready’

North East Lincolnshire Council’s Young People’s Support Services have won a grant worth £93,315 to help prepare young people for work.

The National Citizen Service (NCS) Trust announced around 100 successful recipients of grants, as part of a £20m-fund to deliver community-based experiences at a local and grassroots level.

The Council’s successful bid is aimed at offering experiences to get young people ‘world ready and work ready.’

North East Lincolnshire Council’s Young People’s Support Services, in collaboration with training provider Creating Positive Opportunity (CPO) and industry training providers CATCH and GPL Wind have developed a new community experience programme funded by NCS (National Citizen Service) that will support young people across North East Lincolnshire.

The grant is part of a significant £20m funding package that NCS Trust have awarded to organisations across England for the delivery of community-based experiences at a local and grassroots level.

The NCS, in collaboration with the National Youth Agency and StreetGames, assessed more than 400 applications, with North East Lincolnshire Council’s Young People’s Support Services being selected as one of around 100 organisations to receive funding.

In our area, the grant will allow the delivery of essential work readiness skills, local careers education and guidance along with practical industry taster sessions within two of the region’s biggest growth sectors: offshore wind and decarbonisation.

The young people taking part will be offered the opportunity to hear from industry specialists about career opportunities available locally, how they can access these and the skills and training that they will require.

Leader of North East Lincolnshire Council and portfolio holder for skills, Councillor Philip Jackson, said:

“This is a fantastic and much needed opportunity for our young people to gain an insight into the huge career opportunities that are available here in North East Lincolnshire.

“This ties in with our recently published Skills Action Plan, by encouraging young people to prepare for the world of work, becoming economically active and increasing the likelihood that they stay in the area in a well-paid, skilled career.

“We have already had a number of young people go through these experiences and the feedback that they have given indicates that they feel better informed about the opportunities in this area in areas like engineering and offshore wind.”

Mark Gifford, CEO of NCS Trust, added: “I am delighted to welcome a diverse range of local, grassroots and community organisations from across the youth sector to deliver reimagined NCS experiences. This allows us to reach more young people than ever before, ensuring they are equipped with the skills and perspective to become work ready and world ready. Additionally, our grants for targeted experiences will enable us to reach underserved young people and communities.”

Gifford added, “Together, we will work towards creating a country of confident, connected, caring citizens where everyone feels at home.”

These new experiences will complement NCS’ existing away from home residential offer by providing more opportunities for teenagers to engage in local activities that foster skills development, deepen their understanding of the community, and empower them to contribute positively to its improvement.  The grants will also support organisations that cater to specific groups of young people who may not have participated in previous NCS initiatives.

Over the past decade, more than 800,000 young people have benefitted from an NCS experience, dedicating over 18-million hours to community based social action, while gaining invaluable life experiences.

For young people aged 16-17, who are interested in taking part, please contact Hayley Gilham at [email protected]  stating NCS in the subject title.