An interactive session will take place focussing on youth alienation and unemployment in the Chippenham Community Area. The themes for this session will include:
· Youth employment and opportunities
· Youth education
· The present and future of young people in Chippenham Community Area.
The desired outcomes for the session include:
· A better understanding of the main issues
· What services are available to help address the issues?
· What can the Area Board and its partners do to help?
· What should be avoided to prevent the main issues from worsening?
Minutes:
The Chairman announced that this item had been borne from the recent Area Board Coordinating meeting, where it was felt that there was room at the Area Board meetings to have more meaningful discussion on pertinent topics.
In the light of the current focus on youth employment and the other significant challenges facing young people it was felt that it would be appropriate to get a measure of the situation in our Community Area, so with that in mind the Area Board had invited individuals who could provide the information required to give a better understanding of what the future might hold.
The guest speakers were as follows:
· Jackie Tuckett from Job Centre Plus – The role of Job Centre Plus was to support people in getting back into work and to find innovative ways of doing so. The number of young people aged 18-24 who were unemployed in the area and claiming job seekers allowance was 510, but this included neighbouring market towns as well as Chippenham. This figure was not disproportionate to other areas in Wiltshire, but was lower compared to national figures.
· Kim Hunte from Wiltshire College – Wiltshire College was a major provider of post-16 education in the county, with four main campuses in Chippenham, Trowbridge, Salisbury and Lackham. As well as providing full-time education for 16-19 year olds, the college also worked with young people to develop their employability skills through volunteering and enrichment activities, as well as a careers advice service. There was currently a 12% unemployment rate of young people leaving their courses at the college.
· Kevin Sweeney from the Integrated Youth Service – The youth service and Connexions service worked to help young people with a range of issues including employment, training, housing, drug and alcohol use and youth offending. There were currently 112 young people aged 16 to 19 who were NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training). This was a 27% increase on the previous year. Connexions worked with young people to build their confidence and skills, and to promote qualifications. Connexions was currently undergoing cuts to its service and 50% of its advisors would be lost, with some services being transferred to the schools instead.
· Lisa Lewis from Doorway – Doorway was a charitable organisation that offered assistance to people over the age of 16 who were affected by homelessness and/or other physical and mental issues. 30% of new guests last year were under the age of 25. The charity was developing its services to specialise in working with young people. Activities were offered to help people build skills in literacy and numeracy, to build confidence and to signpost people on to other services. Work was also being done in partnership with local schools to raise awareness of homelessness as a preventative measure.
The Chairman offered the opportunity for everyone to break-out into groups, with each of the guest speakers taking the lead to offer further information and to answer any questions.
Following the break-out sessions, the following key issues arose from the sessions:
Job Centre Plus
· Great value was placed on volunteering for building skills and confidence, so opportunities needed to be available, particularly on the Volunteer Wiltshire website.
· It was noted that ChAP provided various volunteering opportunities for its project teams, so there was an opportunity to join-up here.
· Work experience placements were also invaluable and could significantly increase employment opportunities, so more employers needed to be encouraged to provide placements.
· Transport was considered to be a significant issue with accessibility and affordability getting in the way of employment prospects.
Wiltshire College
· Apprenticeship opportunities were very important for students progressing from college.
· The Area Board could assist to attract employers to the area and retain local graduates.
· Young people in college and leaving college needed to be kept well engaged in order to increase their employment opportunities.
Integrated Youth Service/Connexions
· With the reallocation of resources it was important that the Council worked closely with the schools as key partners.
· To prevent NEETs, it was important to do pre-work with young people to prepare them for employment.
· Employers needed to be engaged to provide apprenticeships and volunteering opportunities.
Doorway
· This charity provided invaluable work in supporting people who often felt that the charity was their final chance to get back on track in life. Resources were scarce and the charity was very much in need of an office in order to continue and to develop the services it provided.
The Chairman thanked the guest speakers for attending the meeting and facilitating such useful sessions, and also thanked everyone else for their involvement.
The Chairman announced that the key issues arising from the sessions would be considered at the next Area Board Coordinating (ABC) meeting and reported back at a future meeting of the Area Board.
Action: The issues arising from the session would be considered at the next ABC meeting and reported back at a future meeting of the Area Board.