Navigators help young people to plot their future

PROJECT

Game Changer

PURPOSE

To support young people into employment, education and training

FUNDING

£4.6m from the European Social Fund and the National Lottery Community Fund between 2017 and 2022

BACKGROUND

The Building Better Opportunities programme saw the National Lottery Community Fund and the European Social Fund come together to invest in local projects tackling the root causes of poverty, promoting social inclusion and driving local jobs and growth. Social enterprise Real Ideas seized the opportunity to support young people in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly where there are high rates of poverty, social deprivation and youth unemployment. The organisation brought together a range of partners to discuss what had and had not worked around supporting young people and found that previous models had been too fragmented and had failed to sufficiently involve employers.

“There needed to be a more holistic approach, a partnership that was much more mobile and able to bring to bear expertise from various sectors,” says Kate Reed, head of employability and pathways at Real Ideas. From this discussion, the Game Changer programme was born, launching in 2017. “We wanted young people to be supported by a network rather than a single organisation or an individual,” says Reed. “A lot of young people who are facing multiple barriers have very narrow networks.”

In developing Game Changer, Real Ideas focused on sectors that were thriving locally, such as the marine sector, to ensure young people would not have to leave the county to find work. “You can train 500 young people to be a hairdresser but the reality is we don't need 500 hairdressers in the county,” says Reed. “The young people might get a lot out of it but only a few would be able to make it into a career.”

ACTION

Game Changer is delivered by Real Ideas in partnership with five other organisations. Cornwall Marine, Creative Kernow and the Eden Project support young people in developing skills and contacts in the marine, creative, tourism and horticulture sectors. Charity Pentreath supports young people to enter the care sector as well as providing mental health support to those taking part in the scheme. White Gold provides additional mentoring to young people who have been involved in the criminal justice system or are struggling with significant issues. Some young people work with every partner, exploring what is on offer, while others dip into one or two.

Game Changer comprises two strands of work. The first targets 17- to 24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training who may be referred by other organisations, such as the Job Centre, or might refer themselves or be referred by a friend. Real Ideas advertises the programme through social media.

Participants initially spend some time with a staff member, called a navigator, looking at what they want to achieve and what is getting in the way of that. “We were adamant we needed to build resilience so we were mindful of what we called our staff,” says Reed. “They are referred to as navigators not key workers.” Key workers implies staff hold the keys to unlock that individual, she explains, while a navigator helps a young person build a map they can follow to get to their preferred destination.

The navigator and the young person work together to assess their “21st century skills”. “How able are they to get things done, turn up on time, how do they feel about their team work and communication skills?” says Reed. “These are the skills employers are looking for.” The young person then maps out the first few steps on their journey to education or employment, drawing on activities offered by Game Changer. These fall into five broad areas: confidence building and creating connections; exploring opportunities; gaining specific skills and accreditation; getting ready for employment and coming together with peers.

Confidence-building sessions might cover anything from Japanese manga-style drawing to boxing and cooking, allowing young people to interact with their peers and with other professionals. Exploring opportunities might involve working with a sector partner to explore the types of jobs available, visiting an employer, or taking part in an “opportunity hack”. This involves supporting young people to follow up opportunities quickly in the course of the session such as phoning an organisation to arrange a volunteering role there and then.

Gaining skills can range from achieving a food hygiene certificate to building a roundhouse at the Eden Project. Meanwhile, getting ready for employment might include work placements and mentoring. Young people have come together to provide feedback to businesses on their services and campaigned around the needs of young people with disabilities in the workplace. “This is not linear, young people can dip in and out depending on what they need to get them to where they want to be,” says Reed. “Some people may be with us for six weeks and that's enough, because all they needed was for three doors to be opened and one barrier to be removed. Other young people we may have been supporting for two years.”

The second strand of work takes place in schools and pupil referral units with young people in year 11 who have been identified as being at serious risk of ending up not in education, employment or training. Navigators offer personalised advice and guidance sessions, working with the young people to build their skills and design activities that will help achieve their aims.

Digital badges are awarded by delivery partners to young people on both strands of the project to recognise skills such as teamwork. These can be used on social media, as email footers, within LinkedIn profiles, and on CVs, and include a clickable link showing what the young person has done to achieve the badge. “It recognises young people's skills outside of formal qualifications,” says Reed.

OUTCOME

So far around 1,350 young people in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly have joined the programme to date with 260 participating in work-based learning programmes lasting 10 days or more. In all, 64 per cent of those who have left the programme have moved into employment, education or training. “This is encouraging during a global pandemic,” says Reed. Of those who have moved on, 43 per cent are engaging with education, 15 per cent with training, five per cent have moved into apprenticeships and 37 per cent into employment.

More than two thirds – 68 per cent – of young people exiting the programme reported improved confidence as a result of taking part. A total of 675 digital badges have been given to young people over the last 18 months for participating in activities and demonstrating skills for work. Young people have achieved 281 formal qualifications.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Funding from the European Social Fund and the National Lottery has been extended until potentially June 2023. This will be particularly valuable to help young people recover after the pandemic, says Reed. “Research tells us the under-25s have been the hardest hit in terms of employment and their future,” she says. “If you were already disadvantaged you are now joining a very large pool of people that are struggling. We have to make sure we don't create a bigger divide coming out of this.” Because the programme is flexible, reacting to young people's needs rather than imposing solutions on them, it can adapt more easily to a post-pandemic world, she adds.

Real Ideas is piloting a programme for year 10s based on the Game Changer approach and is also applying some of the learning from the programme – including the digital badges – to newer projects such as Cornwall Youth Hub run in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions.

• By Charlotte Goddard If you think your project is worthy of inclusion, email supporting data to derren.hayes@markallengroup.com