Internships proposal to give young people an employment boost

Young people who are finding it difficult to get jobs and training are set for a new way into the world of work through a Royal Borough internship programme that will give 16-24-year-olds a step onto the ladder - without losing any benefits they are entitled to.

The scheme, to be discussed by cabinet on Thursday 25 August, will focus on the borough's 500 young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), offering work placements across the council for anything between two and eight weeks.

For those who complete their placement successfully there will be a reference and a statement of achievement to help them in their search for a job or apprenticeship.

Cllr Simon Dudley, Cabinet Member for Adult and Community Services, said: "It is absolutely vital that we find constructive and productive ways of engaging with young people and giving them real opportunities to achieve.

"By setting up this internship scheme we will not only enable 16-24-year-olds to build work experience but we will cement a building block that will strengthen our community for future generations."

Cllr Eileen Quick, Cabinet Member for Children's Services, said that while the Royal Borough has an enviable reputation for academic achievement in its schools, there are young people who need nurturing outside the traditional school system.

She added: "For a variety of reasons there are young people who have great difficulty finding their niche in education, training and employment. That's why we want to give them a helping hand - the chance to show their potential in the workplace, to demonstrate they have skills and talents waiting to be developed and to emerge at the end with tangible proof that they are worth a place on the employment and training ladder that will take them towards a productive working life."

If given cabinet approval, the internship scheme will start in September and could take up to 60 young people in its first year.

Services across the council will be tasked to identify 'real jobs' for the interns to get their teeth into so that, by the end of their session, they will have made a valuable contribution to a service that benefits local residents.

The internships will be unpaid and structured so that participants do not lose their right to benefits*.

The council already offers work experience for students in Years 10 and 11 of local secondary schools and for other young people, regardless of whether or not they are in education, employment or training. The internship scheme will be the first of its kind for the council and it is hoped to forge links with local employers to attract sponsorship that would enable the council to offer a lunch allowance to its interns.

Notes:
*The national scheme allows unemployed 16-24-year-olds to retain weekly unemployment benefits and childcare costs that they are entitled to while undertaking an approved employer work placement lasting between two and eight weeks and for between 25 and 30 hours a week.

How do you rate this information/service?