The Social Switch Project has received £200,000 from the VRU to deliver its free diversion programme to 24 young Londoners over the next six months after a successful pilot saw 40 young people trained in digital skills in the first half of the year.
The three-week full-time training programme is backed by Google and delivered by youth charity Redthread and social business Catch22. In addition to training in the use of search engines, social media and analytics, young people receive intensive career support after the programme has finished.
A total of 14 participants in the pilot Social Switch Project are already in employment, an apprenticeship or in a work experience programme; three have entered further training; and the remaining young people continue to get intensive career support.
Christina Hicks, programme lead for the Social Switch Project, said the pilot programme was delivered to three cohorts of young people, the last of which received training online due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and achieved positive outcomes.
“The results speak for themselves – there were improvements against every outcome indicator, including dramatic increases in self-esteem and self-confidence for the people we work with,” she said.
“By giving these young people a real opportunity to upskill and launch a career, particularly during such a distressing time, we know the Social Switch Project can change the course of these young peoples’ lives.
“There are too many young people in London at risk of violence, both in their homes and on their streets, because they see no future outside of the environment they have grown up in.”
Lib Peck, director of London’s Violence Reduction Unit, which is funded through the Mayor of London’s office, said: “We are focused on addressing the complex causes which lie behind young people becoming involved with, or being victims of violent crime. That is why we are investing in the Social Switch Project, which supports young people in building their creative and digital skills and which will continue to help many more young Londoners reach their true potential.”
The Social Switch Project also trains frontline professionals, such as teachers, social workers and youth workers, in dealing with the challenges young people face online through an intensive one-day course. More than 500 practitioners have now completed the training, including during the Covid-19 lockdown, with 92 per cent reporting an increased understanding of how young people interact online, and 90 per cent having an improved understanding of best practice for working with young people online.
The recent Youth Violence Committee Final Report highlighted concerns about the increasing risk to young people as they head back to school next month so some of the VRU funding will be used to support the expansion of this training too, offering more targeted support for London’s teachers and social workers.
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