Talent Match | NEET Prevention, Leicestershire In VCS Partnership with Princes Trust

Worth-it was selected as a partner for Talent Match, a Big Lottery Funded initiative that will help local 18 to 24-year-olds who had been out of work for more than 12 months. Together with lead Talent Match partner for Leicester and Leicestershire, The Prince’s Trust, a panel of local young people, and a number of local partners from across the voluntary, public and private sectors, were awarded £2.5 million to deliver local solutions for long-term unemployed young people living locally.

Talent Match targeted young people who were furthest from the job market, including those who are completely outside of the benefits, work and training system and facing severe barriers to gaining the skills they need to get into work.

Talent Match boosted opportunities for young people in these areas by bringing together partnerships of employers, education providers and others, led by local charities. 

The investment was co-designed with young people, both centrally and in each of the 21 partnership areas, and will continued to have young people at the heart of decision-making throughout the programme delivery between 2014-2019.

Our partnership with Talent Match aimed to engage, inspire and support those who are furthest from the labour market and we focused on local areas with high unemployment, Beaumont Leys, New Parks, Braunstone and Rowley Fields and Spinney Hill wards and in Leicestershire, the Greenhill Ward near Coalville in the District of North West Leicestershire.

Our project, FIRST for Work, is a fun and interactive package of support including coaching sessions, peer support and intensive group work for young people aged 18-24. The programme consists of interactive and engaging group work sessions that build self-awareness and address some of the underlying psychological and behavioural causes which can lead to long unemployment.

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