Youth Futures Foundation

TWO NEW GRANT ROUNDS OPEN FOR APPLICATIONS TODAY: 100k in core, unrestricted funding for an initial period of one year (with potential for us to become a longer-term funder) for organisations that either: 1. Improve attainment outcomes for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. OR 2. Support young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) into employment through the development of skills. Apply by 11:59pm on Thursday 17 April. Find out more about our School Attainment and Skills grant rounds, check your organisation's eligibility and sign-up for our info webinars: https://lnkd.in/eGh9CyEH

The REC and Youth Futures Foundation are calling for action on 'youth employment crisis' The REC, representing the recruitment industry, and Youth Futures Foundation, the What Works Centre for youth employment, are urging policymakers to balance worker protections in planned employment law reforms with policies that create real job opportunities for young people. Youth unemployment is at a decade high, with nearly 1 million young people out of work or education. As the Government moves forward with key employment reforms, we must ensure young people aren’t left behind. ✅ The challenge: A complex job market, rising National Insurance & wage costs, and uncertainty around hiring young workers. ✅ The opportunity: If we match the best youth employment rates in the OECD, we could unlock a £69bn boost for the UK economy. ✅ The solution: A joined-up approach—ensuring skills, welfare, and employment rights reforms work together to create real opportunities. The REC and Youth Futures Foundation are calling for action. 🗣 Neil Carberry, Chief Executive at REC, says: "We all want young people to be in good work, and we all want sustainable business growth. Through working together with care, informed by evidence and insight, we can find the balance to unlock prosperity for all." 🗣 Nishi Mayor, Director at Youth Futures Foundation, adds: "It’s crucial that the Government listens to young people, employers, and experts to ensure these reforms support the next generation to access quality jobs and training." We must listen to employers, experts & young people to ensure reforms open doors, not close them. With collaboration & the right policies, we can build a stronger future for the next generation. Read the full article in People Management Magazine: https://bit.ly/41KYM0s

We are delighted to announce we will be investing in eight organisations to design, deliver, and evaluate evidence-based interventions to support young people across the country into good work, as part of our Evidence into Action programme.   IMO Charity, RISE UP, Making Education a Priority, Miss Macaroon, Punch Records, Sports Key , FULLY FOCUSED COMMUNITY TRUST and Ultra Education C.I.C have been selected as part of the new programme of targeted support for marginalised young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) or at risk of becoming NEET.   Read more ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e_64qZuU 

Fantastic to participate in ReGenerate’s roundtable with Skills Minister Jacqui Smith.   Recognising Regenerate’s report released last month, our CEO Barry Fletcher outlined the huge potential social and economic benefits of increasing access to apprenticeships for marginalised young people.   As the What Works Centre for youth employment, we know that international evidence shows apprenticeships are an important and impactful way to support young people to prepare for and access jobs.   We are looking forward to continuing to work with Government and the wider sector to increase the participation of apprenticeships, so young people from all backgrounds can enter and succeed in the workforce.

BBC Breakfast highlighted the vital work of our Connected Futures Blackpool partnership yesterday. 👏 Working with partners, Connected Futures aims to improve education and employment support for young people in local areas, by changing the youth employment system. In Blackpool, partners are working together to offer students the Compass Curriculum. This allows young people to immerse themselves in their chosen vocational subject, equipping them with essential skills for their future endeavours.

Sarah Yong, Director of Policy & External Affairs, comments on the launch of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s National Youth Strategy listening exercise: "This is a huge opportunity for young people to drive real change - sharing what matters most in their communities, from the barriers they face to the support they need and how funding can be well spent to build a better future.   "Including the voices of young people is essential if we want to build a better system that truly works for them. This is core to our mission at Youth Futures Foundation and we are excited to work with our inspiring young ambassadors to be involved in shaping the National Youth Strategy and to encourage their peers to have their say too." Read the Government's press release ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e4gFzB-m

There’s still time to apply for Senior Evidence & Evaluation Manager! 💡    In the role you will:    ➡️ Play a key role in creating the largest repository of robust evidence to support young people into good jobs    ➡️ Lead on the design, commissioning, and management of evaluations and evidence generation    ➡️ Contribute to the development of our suite of ‘evaluation architecture’, include enhancing our data infrastructure and administrative dataset access    Apply now: https://lnkd.in/exStbpNb   📅 Deadline: 9 March 2025

"Ramadan is a time of reflection, discipline, and community". - Annum M., Partnerships Manager. In our Discrimination and Work survey, 24% of young people from minoritised ethnic backgrounds shared that they have been questioned about their culture or religion in an offensive or humiliating way. 41% of young people who experience discrimination at work say is has a negative impact on their everyday lives, and 73% are motivated to look for opportunities in other companies. By creating an inclusive workplace where different cultures are celebrated, and where employees feel safe to talk about their needs and experiences, employers can empower marginalised young people reach their potential. Ramadan Mubarak to all those celebrating. Read our Discrimination and Work report: https://lnkd.in/eCgRCzzv

As well as producing and evaluating the highest quality research to determine what works in the youth employment sector, we translate high-quality evidence for the public policy community to embed these learnings into action to drive change for marginalised young people.    Our new ‘Public Policy Hub’ includes hugely valuable resources for policymakers, such as:    💡Our latest policy papers, with instantly accessible findings and recommendations    💡Our interactive tools, such as the Youth Employment Toolkit and Data Dashboard    💡Information on our current programmes that are transforming the youth employment landscape, such as Connected Futures and Building Futures    Check it out ➡️ https://lnkd.in/edKXNCZ9

The Office for National Statistics' latest data reveals a stark rise in the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET). With over 987,000 young people not earning or learning, the data reveals that another 100,000 young people have been locked out of the UK labour market in the last year. Read our full response to the announcement ➡ https://lnkd.in/eEcmzVby