Launch of £6.1m fund to connect local support for young people

Nov 4, 2021

Youth Futures Foundation launches its latest multi-million pound fund.

The aim of the Connected Futures programme is to join up services at a local level so that young people furthest from the job market receive good quality, consistent support that understands their complex needs.

Anna Smee, CEO Youth Futures Foundation said:

“When young people facing disadvantage told us what they want from employment support, they talked about changes to the whole system of statutory, charitable and business-led services, not just individual agencies or interventions. It is clear that these young people need connected services that work together to help them achieve their goals, with their long-term wellbeing at their heart.”

There are 631,000 young people not in education or employment and nearly 200,000 of those are long-term unemployed. It is unacceptable that the rate of young people being NEET (Not in education, employment or training) has been at least 1 in 10 for over a decade – this figure is still too high compared with places like Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands. If we could match the NEET rates seen in Germany, that could provide a £40bn boost to our national GDP.

The fund is open to partnership applications from local authorities, charities, not-for-profits, employers and related organisations and must be focused on a distinct geographic area. To be successful, proposals must demonstrate alignment with Youth Futures’ mission and ‘what works’ evidence-based approach. The new fund brings the total committed by Youth Futures to tackle youth unemployment to £27.7m, since its establishment in 2019.

The grants for the first phase of the Connected Futures programme will run for a duration of up to 18 months. The closing date for applications is Monday 17 January 2022.

Webinar

Join us at our workshop on Wednesday 24 November at 15.00. It’s for prospective applicants to hear more about the fund. We’ll go through frequently asked questions and it is an opportunity to ask new questions.

To register please click here.

Find out more about the fund and how to apply here.

 

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