A £2 MILLION programme is launched today which will help connect disadvantaged young people in the North East with the right education and skills.

The project, with philanthropic support by JPMorgan Chase and rolled out by the national body for careers education, The Careers & Enterprise Company, will work with secondary school pupils facing significant barriers to help them prepare for the world of work.

This will include young people from low-income families, on free school meals, those in areas of high deprivation, and those who have been excluded from school.

Following an application process across England’s network of regional Career Hubs, ten projects have been selected, including one to support disadvantaged young people here.

Run by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership and their Careers Hub, the project will support young people to raise their aspirations and awareness of the best next step, whichever pathway their chose to take.

Over two and a half years the project will support the young people to increase their knowledge and understanding about all the pathways available to them and give them the chance to engage with a range of employers including through work experience.

Oli de Botton, Chief Executive at The Careers & Enterprise Company, added: “Helping young people find their best next step out of school into work, training or further study is important at the best of times. As we help this generation bounce back from the pandemic this work become critical. As a Headteacher I’ve seen first-hand just how transformative high quality, high impact careers education can be.”

Matt Joyce at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, said: "We work to ensure that every young person in the North East can identify routes to a successful working life, make more informed decisions about their future and be better prepared for the workplace.

"We look forward to delivering this project and working with the schools involved to give this cohort of young people an enhanced, and more personalised, programme of careers support to ensure that they make a successful and sustained progression into a high quality destination of their choice once they finish Year 11."

 

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