An investment of more than £100million has been made to ‘Talent Match’ by the Big Lottery Fund to tackle youth unemployment in 21 areas in England, with Liverpool seeing £6.6m of the funds.
Talent Match aims to help young people aged 18-24 who have been out of employment, education or training for over 12 months and are furthest away from the labour market to find jobs. With mentors based in Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton, St. Helens, Halton and The Wirral, they hope to create positive and lasting changes in the lives of Merseyside’s young people.
Colette Taylor, Programme Manager at Talent Match, told JMU Journalism: “Talent Match is not a programme or course, it is voluntary, and it does not affect any benefits they may be receiving. It is aimed at exploring a young person’s interests, skills and ambitions to further enhance their employment prospects.
“All young people will be assigned an intensive mentor, who will undertake initial assessments and will develop a personalised pathway for each young person. Pathways will be designed to meet the needs of young people living in different geographical locations and with individual support needs.”
She explained that a central recruitment strategy will bring young people onto the programme, using a range of methods including social media, fliers and face-to-face engagement.
The funding is also going to be distributed across other areas such as Manchester, Nottingham, Norwich, Sheffield and London.