NCS Trust and Youth Employment UK launch innovative new partnership to help improve youth skills and employability
Monday 26 February 2024
National Citizen Service (NCS) and Youth Employment UK (YEUK) are excited to announce the launch of a new 12 month partnership to boost youth skills and employability. YEUK, an independent, not for profit social enterprise founded to tackle youth unemployment, will co-develop important employability learning resources and insights to support NCS services for young people aged 16-17.
In an environment where young people across the UK are facing unprecedented challenges and insecurities, NCS and YEUK will develop tools and resources to boost their skills and prepare them for the world of work. High levels of young people (age 16-24) not in full time education or employment (NEET) and the lack of essential skills amongst young people needed for transition into work are highlighted in reports by the Institute for Employment Studies and Chartered Management Institute. Furthermore, the uneven provision of non-formal and learning opportunities available to young people outside of formal education, means that many are missing out on activities linked to improved educational outcomes, employment prospects, and physical and mental health.
The new collaboration between YEUK and NCS includes a number of initiatives to address these issues including the co-creation of employability resources aimed at supporting teachers in providing high-quality personal development opportunities for young people. These resources will be included in the NCS Skills Booster programme which provides content around life skills, citizenship and employability for students in schools, colleges and other settings.
NCS is also proud to sponsor and contribute to the upcoming Youth Census as part of this new partnership. NCS and YEUK will co-design questions for YEUK’s Youth Voice Census, an annual survey of young people aged 11-30 which provides the most comprehensive temperature check on how young people are feeling about a range of issues, including education, employment and training. The outcomes of the survey will help shape NCS strategy and development of its three service lines comprising residential, local community and online experiences for 16-17 year olds.
The partnership will also see NCS and YEUK further develop YEUK’s online courses, which support thousands of young people with employability information and skills each year, to make these more tailored and accessible for young people within NCS target groups. In particular, this project will develop bite sized, badged and certificated, employability courses which young people work through at their own pace and that will be hosted on YEUK’s website. Through this NCS will be able to test its hypothesis, that young people engage better with more bite sized context.
Mark Gifford, CEO of NCS Trust, welcomed the partnership, saying: “We are excited to launch this new partnership with Youth Employment UK, gathering important insights and developing appropriate learning opportunities for young people around employability. The partnership demonstrates the continued commitment of NCS to ensuring all young people are work ready, world ready and have access to resources and experiences to help them gain valuable employability skills.”
Laura-Jane Rawlings MBE, CEO and Founder of Youth Employment UK, said:
“We are delighted to be kicking off 2024 with this partnership with NCS. Youth Employment UK recognises the important role NCS plays in boosting opportunities for young people. NCS has the power to build young people's skills, confidence and social networks, these are all things young people tell us they want and need more of in the Youth Voice Census and our wider work. This partnership brings together two very aligned organisations, committed to supporting young people on their next steps.”
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For more information, please contact:
NCS press office – email media@ncstrust.org.uk or call 020 3920 8576.
Youth Employment UK press office – email info@youthemployment.org.uk or call 01536 513388
About NCS
As a Government Arm’s Length Body, NCS has a key role in delivering the National Youth Guarantee and shaping the government’s ambition for young people. NCS offers a range of experiences for young people that support them to become world ready and work ready — through growing their confidence, independence and skills; connecting them with people from all walks of life; and empowering them to make a difference in their communities and wider society. NCS is well positioned to credibly contribute to thought leadership and policy insight around skills and employability - leveraging over a decade of experience and expertise delivering programmes to more than 800,000 young people across the country to build their skills for life and work; and a considerable learning base on ‘what works’ to achieve these outcomes.
Particularly in the context of the upcoming general election, “skills and employability” is a priority topic with broad political appeal, with clear links to the cross-party “growth agenda”. This presents an important opportunity for NCS, in collaboration with sector organisations and stakeholders, to meaningfully engage with and influence policy making in this space, and work closely with sector forums and networks to improve long-term skills and employment outcomes for young people on a national policy level.
About Youth Employment UK
Youth Employment UK (YEUK) is an independent, not for profit social enterprise founded to tackle youth unemployment. YEUK has been a wayfinder to young people navigating the employment landscape since 2012.
As experts on youth employment and unemployment, they are ideally placed to understand the complex landscape facing young people, employers and policy makers. YEUK policy and research work has positioned them as a leading youth employment expert. They understand “what works” across this broad and complex landscape and provide support and best practice guidance for all of those working with and for young people.
Having established strong partnerships across government departments and maintaining their role as secretariat for the All Party Parliamentary Group for Youth Employment they have been able to represent their membership at a range of round-tables, conferences, parliamentary events and within specific projects.
