Employment: Ready for work

Fed up of constantly hearing that young people didn't have the skills or the attitude needed to get a job, Futurversity manager Lola Ahonkhai decided something needed to be done.

"People may think that everyone knows how to shake hands, make eye contact, look for a job," she says. "No they don't."

So, three years ago, she put forward a proposal at charity Futurversity (formerly known as Tower Hamlets Summer University) for the Job Ready programme, which aims to help young people struggling to get into work or training get the skills they need.

Since then, the programme has helped about 70 young people undertake employment training.

"You can go to any programme and learn about CV writing, but we try to really nurture young people so they don't revert to their old life afterwards," explains Ahonkhai.

"A young man who took part in the first programme was in a gang and in trouble with the police. He was looking at prison time when he came on the programme and he couldn't even turn a computer on. Now he is training as a youth worker and helps us deliver the programme to other young people."

The right attitude

The programme runs several times a year for three days a week over an 11-week period and includes a two-week work placement. Classroom-based training looks at interpersonal skills, before covering everything from basic literacy and IT to the nitty gritty of CV writing and interview technique. A lot of it, says Ahonkhai, is about making sure the young people develop the right attitude for the world of work.

"We can empathise with them so they listen to us when we say, 'look, you're not going to get a job with your trousers that low and your suit is very nice and white, but you just can't wear that to an interview'," says Ahonkhai. "We are not insulting, but we are very real with them."

Vital to success is partnership with big companies such as fashion firm Burberry, travel operator National Express and construction firm Kier London, as well as financial organisations such as Deutsche Bank, which has taken part through the Job Ready for the City programme.

Businesses can be involved as much or as little as they want, explains Ahonkhai, although most send staff in to talk about their personal experiences during the classroom-based part of the training, as well as offering work placements.

Carol Simmonds, partnering and service improvement manager at construction firm Kier London, says: "Kier has a strong graduate programme and we want to provide opportunities to a wider group of people at different entry levels. This was a fantastic opportunity to open up the industry to young people."

Kier staff volunteered to run workshops on CV writing and to become "buddies" when the young people came on work placements. During their time at the firm, the young people worked in the local authority housing repairs division and on some of London's largest construction sites.

"We had a good response from our people to act as volunteer buddies," says Simmonds. "Many Kier people have been in the industry a long time and have had mentors that have helped us to develop. It's also good for us to receive feedback on our organisation from a fresh perspective as over a period of time it's easy to become blinkered to strengths and weaknesses."

National Express East Anglia, which runs train services for London and the East of England, was involved in the programme earlier this year. Station manager Simi Tinubu says the scheme helps to broaden young people's horizons about the job opportunities available. "Aside from the fact that our biggest station Liverpool Street is close to Tower Hamlets, this is a good thing to do for youngsters," she says. "Young people don't think there are opportunities in the railways, so we got involved so they could see what is out there."

Working closely together

Five of the young people who took part in work placements have since applied for full-time positions with the transport operator. Tinubu says it is beneficial to firms to know candidates well before they hire them. "We worked closely with the young people and saw how they were with customers and what their timekeeping and commitment was like, so it opens up quality candidates to us."

Tinubu and her colleagues delivered classroom-based sessions, such as coaching them on how to do interviews. "Being a mother myself, I know that with a little bit of guidance, teenagers can come on in leaps and bounds," says Tinubu. "The first time we saw them, they were slouched down with their jeans around their legs and wouldn't ask questions. By the end, they were smartly dressed, confident and professional looking - you wouldn't believe they were the same young people. It makes my heart glad."

Although the young people don't necessarily want to enter the field of work where they do their placement, it gives them a valuable opportunity to get work experience and demonstrate that they can be employable.

With 895,000 16- to 24-year-olds not in employment, education or training, Pat Thompson, head of policy and public affairs at youth engagement charity Catch 22, believes more courses are needed to help young people into work or training.

"Often young people, for one reason or another, have fallen out of education and schemes such as this provide a fantastic way of skilling up young people," she says. "More needs to be done for young people to ensure they can get the skills they need to help them gain qualifications, build their life skills and get into employment, particularly as we are coming out of a period of recession. It is important that schemes focus on the young person as a whole, as young people may have other issues, like a lack of confidence."

More than half (56 per cent) of participants on the latest Job Ready course have gone on to get a job or training, and on some courses this figure has been as high as 90 per cent.

Although it doesn't work for everyone, Ahonkhai says it introduces them to the world of work, a world they may have thought had no relevance for them. "It is about opening their eyes up and opening that world up," she says. "We are successful because we give them hope."

Nazma Begum 24, Tower Hamlets

Since graduating with a degree in sociology two years ago, Nazma struggled to find work during the recession and jumped at the chance to take part in Job Ready's programme, in partnership with National Express East Anglia.

"It was really hard to get a job and when I heard about the Job Ready programme, I thought maybe they can help me apply for jobs," she recalls. "The tutors were really good and motivated me to apply for jobs."

The tutors helped her write covering letters and a CV and fill out job applications.

"I've filled in lots of online job applications and sometimes they don't even bother shortlisting you, so there's obviously something wrong with my application form because I wasn't getting to the point. At uni, they don't teach you anything about CVs or getting a job. And job agencies don't help you with how to write your CV, they just expect you to have it done, so for years I've been giving a CV out that doesn't look good. The programme is good because they actually care about you and getting to know you. They try to support you as much as they can."

Above all, the programme gave Nazma the motivation and confidence to succeed.

"When I started, I didn't have a hope of getting a job, but the programme gave me so much motivation. I was feeling very negative and the course really boosted my self esteem."

Successful placement

Nazma completed a successful work placement with National Express. During her time there, she worked mainly in customer services where she monitored queues and shadowed staff in the ticket office. She also visited the central control office, where all details about changes and delays to services are logged. National Express put the young people through a mock interview and filmed them. Nazma is now hoping to take up a full-time post in their customer services department.

"I thought I would do the programme and see how it goes, but it has changed my life. Now I've got this opportunity I'm going to grab onto it."

Yasmin Begum 19, Tower Hamlets

After completing a BTEC national in health studies, Yasmin (who is not related to Nazma) planned to go on to university. But when she didn't manage to get a place, she panicked.

"I thought, 'help, what am I going to do now? How am I going to look for work?'" she recalls. "Then I came across the Job Ready programme."

She learnt everything from CV writing to anger management and says the best thing was that the tutors were "on our level and understood where we were coming from."

She was a bit sceptical when she found out that her work placement would be with construction firm Kier London.

"I am not in the least bit interested in construction. But confidence-wise, it taught me such a lot. I got used to working with all male middle-aged workers and knew I could sit down and talk to them with confidence. It has been quite amazing actually."

While she was completing the programme, she applied for a job as a maternity support worker at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital.

The tutors on the Job Ready programme helped her fill out the application, something she says she never would have managed on her own. "They really motivated me."

She is now enjoying her job helping midwives and plans to work for a year before reapplying to university to study paramedic science.

"If I hadn't done the course, I would have been sitting at home feeling sorry for myself because I didn't get to uni.

"I thank my lucky stars."