All young Londoners deserve to be excited and inspired about their futures and identifying positive career paths are key to this.
The Future Focus Network believes in supporting young people to explore what’s out there, providing opportunities to gain direct experience of the world of work in order to increase their future employment prospects. Our approach is complementary to their secondary / sixth form education.
Our early intervention actively seeks to reduce the chance of long-term youth unemployment, which we know increases the likelihood of unemployment in later life, lower earnings and poorer well-being.
We understand firsthand that race is a significant factor, with young Londoners of colour twice as likely to be unemployed as their white peers. Currently 56% of young Londoners are from BAME communities (MOPAC 2018), so safeguarding their economic prospects is crucial.
Our Future Leaders Programme recognizes that getting young people into employment is as much about building self-confidence and developing life skills, as well as educational attainment. Under this programme young people are given access to advice, support and opportunities they need to get ready for the world of work. It aims to improve the employment prospects of young people through various resources, career focused workshops, seminars and events. This programme builds their knowledge and confidence to get the job they want and develops the skills employers seek most in young people.
Our workshops are targeted at young people who are thinking about their next steps. It introduces the idea that they are beginning a journey that will take them to their future in the workplace, during which they need to develop their self-awareness and career knowledge and understanding, learning to sell themselves effectively in words and in person. The knowledge and skills students gain during the Skills 4 Life programme help them reflect on the key skills that employers most seek and which they’ll need to succeed in work. It looks at how students use these already and how they can develop and strengthen each life skill, ready to impress at interview and thrive at work.
At the heart of Future Leaders Programme is the importance of working early with young people (aged 14-18), exciting them with opportunities and providing first-hand experience of positive career paths. The Future Focus Network aims to support them by developing their core life skills, improving employability skills and provide them with opportunities to build up their social and professional networks from attending taster days and work experience opportunities in a range of sectors