EMBARGOED: 00:01hrs Wednesday 22 January 2014

£1M TO HELP JOBLESSYOUTHINLINCOLNSHIRE

The New Year is looking a lot brighter for young jobseekers in Lincolnshire as the Big Lottery Fund today (Wednesday) announces the area is to receive £1m from Talent Match, its £108m youth unemployment initiative.

The news comes as the latest job figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) are released today. Recent figures showed that 4,585 young people living in the East Midlands had been claiming Jobseekers’ Allowance for more than 12 months[1].

The Big Lottery Fund, the largest distributor of good causes money from the National Lottery, has launched Talent Match, a scheme designed by young people for young people andwith the aim of helping those aged 18-24 who are struggling the most to find career opportunities.Now the Fund has awardedlead partner, youth charity The Prince’s Trust, £1,130,446to help young people living in areas in Lincolnshire who have been unemployed or out of education for at least 12 months.

The areas, which were chosen due to their high proportion of unemployed young people, include Boston, Skegness, Lincoln and Gainsborough.

Talent Match projects are led by a cross-sector partnership with a key focus on employers, particularly from the private sector, to ensure that it meets local needs and young people are given opportunities get the skills to find employment.The Prince’s Trustwill now work in partnership with local organisations and young people to devise the best ways to support unemployed young people.

Partner organisations for Lincolnshire include: Barnardo’s Services Ltd, DHL Logistics Ltd, Gelder Construction Ltd, Involving Lincs, Lincolnshire Constabulary, Lincolnshire County Council and Lincolnshire Education Business Partnership.

The ACEVO Commission on Youth Unemployment has estimated that the issue will cost £28billion over the next decade.

Nat Sloane, England Chair of the Big Lottery Fund, said ‘Youth unemployment is an issue that threatens the hopes of an entire generation as well as our whole economic wellbeing. Talent Match promises to help the very hardest to reach young people to make the most of their skills and ambitions, not just as an end goal, but by giving them a say in how the programme itself is designed and put into practice.

‘The funding announced today is a key step on a very exciting journey as it means the real work can now begin. By bringing together the private sector and the knowledge of key charities, Talent Match will help ensure today’s young people have the maximum help and support they need to find a fulfilling and rewarding career.’

Mike Johnson MBE, group training manager at Gelder Group, a core partner of the Talent Match initiative in Greater Lincolnshire, said: “Talent Match is an excellent initiative that we fully support. It will bring together the young unemployed with partners across the voluntary sector, business and local authorities. As a collective, all of us believe every young person has a talent and we’re committed to identifying all of the barriers they face in accessing education, employment and training. Too many young people are struggling in the dole queue with little hope that their luck will ever change, or find the right opportunity themselves. By helping to open new doors and supporting local young people who are furthest from the jobs market, we hope to shape much brighter futures for them and the communities in which they live.”

John O’Reilly, Director at The Prince’s Trust in Central England, added: “Talent Match will support long-term unemployed young people in Lincolnshire, by matching them with a dedicated mentor who will help boost their confidence and skills, and support them back into the workplace. The Prince’s Trust and all its partner organisations would like to extend a huge and heartfelt thank you to The Big Lottery Fund for this incredibly generous investment in young people. Last year, three in four young people on Prince’s Trust programmes moved into work, education or training. We look forward to helping many more as a direct result of this funding.”

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Notes to Editors

  • The Big Lottery Fund, the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
  • The Fund is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK. Since its inception in 2004 BIG has awarded close to £6bn.
  • The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
  • In the year ending 31 March 2013, 28% of total National Lottery revenue was returned to the Good Causes
  • Since the National Lottery began in 1994, over £30 billion has now been raised and more than 400,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.

Partner organisations across Lincolnshire include:

Barnardo’s Services Ltd

DHL Logistics Ltd

Gelder Construction Ltd

Involving Lincs

Lincolnshire Constabulary

Lincolnshire County Council

Lincolnshire Education Business Partnership

Ends//

Issued: 21/01/2014

PN 14-01-23

[1] Figures are from Office for National Statistics (ONS), Claimant Count – Age and Duration, November 2013