Local charity Merseyside Youth Association secures £4.2m to launch a programme to support young people in Liverpool city region into work. Tony McDonough reports
Merseyside Youth Association (MYA) will launch a £4.2m drive to tackle youth unemployment across Liverpool city region.
MYA, a 130-year-old charity, has secured funding from the Youth Futures Foundation and the European Social Fund / Youth Employment Initiative. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) administers the scheme.
It will fund the delivery of MYA’s Talent Match job support programme, allowing more than 1,600 long-term unemployed 18-24-year-olds in Liverpool city region access to a range of services. These services include specialised mental health support and bespoke employment guidance.
Soaring inflation is pushing up the cost of energy and food, leading to a cost of living crisis that is hitting young people hard. It means they pay double on essentials such as rent and bills compared to people aged 50 and above.
MYA says one effective way to tackle this is by supporting them to land good quality jobs. Around one in 10 young people in the UK are not in employment, education or training (NEET).
Youth Futures funding (from Dormant Assets) will support an evaluation. King’s College London will deliver this evaluation. They will share the findings across the youth sector and with national and local policymakers. This will inform future effective practice and policy.
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Gill Bainbridge, chief executive of MYA, said: “This funding will make a huge difference to the lives of some of the region’s most vulnerable and marginalised young people. It will support them to develop the resilience, skills and motivation to overcome barriers to achievement.
“It also provides us with a fantastic opportunity to work alongside King’s College London. It will demonstrate and evidence our best practice and influence future policy and practice.”
This builds on Youth Futures’ recently launched £6.1m Connected Futures Fund. It is aimed at reducing the fragmentation of youth employment and skills delivery in places that need it most. Funding allocation details will be published in the summer.
Harriet McCann, interim director of engagement, Youth Futures Foundation, added: “The cost-of-living crisis is hitting young people hard. An effective way to overcome this is by supporting them into employment. Young people tell us they want joined-up, consistent support. This helps them gain control of their lives, land a good job and fully contribute to society.”