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Opportunities for young people

January Guarantee - for all 16, 17 & 18 year old NEETS (announced by DCSF in December). Choice home page will give you all the January open days and let you search for all January programmes.

Courses and Jobs

Job Information Sheets for January can be downloaded from the CLC website. Vacancies this month include Apprenticeship in Construction, Apprentice Nursery Assistant and many more!

Activity Agreement Project - Continues for another year and spaces are now available. Please contact your local AAP PA to refer your young people. For more information on AAP, please contact Bally Sappal, AAP Manager.

Red Kite Learning is offering a range of FREE IT courses to people living in Southwark, aged 19 or over.

Internship for a Web/Graphic designer for three months is being offered by Dotpeak. They will provide a lunch allowance, training, and an internship certificate upon completion. Contact them via email for more info.

Interactivity is a FREE mobile media course for 19 and 20 year olds in London using digital photography, video and sound recording, GPS, digital maps and the resources of Westminster Archives to create mediascapes of local areas. The course runs one day a week from January over six weeks with a showcase of the completed work in March 2010. Call 020 7245 2263 for more info.

Get into Administration – Young people aged 16-25, who are unemployed and a current or ex-offender can join this FREE training programme for a career in Administration.

New Initiatives' programmes - Origin rites of passage programme for Black young men 13-17 years and Akuah for young women 12-16 are enrolling for this years cohort.

Personal Development opportunities

People & Planet are looking for a student blogger to write about environmental issues and contribute to their website and newsletter. For more information, click here.  

Youth Mark is recruiting 15-19 year olds in London to become Youth Mark Assessors. The deadline for applications is 15th January. For more information, please call Jenny on 020 8347 2365 or visit the website.

Catch 22 is starting new mentoring programmes to empower young Muslims in Islington. The aim is to establish 20 new one-to-one mentoring relationships between young people aged 11-14 and their peers aged 16-25. Please contact Farhat for more info on 020 7561 4822/ 07540 669 112.

Mentor UK’s London Youth Involvement Project is looking for 12-15 year olds from London to be Youth Advisers on how to prevent drug and alcohol abuse amongst young people. Please contact Roxanne Holman for more information.

NHS Careers Website has been launched with information and guidance for young people considering a career in medicine.

Other Opportunities

Improve your chances of becoming a doctor (27th February) - This event will help young people decide whether studying medicine is for them.

No Messin! – The nationwide campaign are looking for groups of young people, who identify a problem in their community, then come up with an idea about how to help it. For more information, visit the website.

Your Life on Track – Young people are being asked to make a short video answering the question: What's your best piece of career advice? Once created, upload the video to YouTube and link it to Your Life on Track.

UnLtd Sport Relief Awards are a UK wide funding programme for 11-21 year olds, who are prepared to go the extra mile and use their passion for sport and arts to bring respect and understanding to their communities by setting up their own projects.

Increase your chances of becoming a lawyer (6th March) - This event will help young people decide whether studying law is for them.

HeadsUp is an online debating space for under-18s to discuss their views on political issues with their peers and influential decision-makers.

Consultations

One Young World is looking for the next generation of world leaders to take part in an international summit addressing six key issues affecting the world today. They need 1500 young people to take part, young people who are interested should register through facebook.

Fast Forward - In December 2009 the borough of Islington and Central London Connexions carried out a Fast Forward NEET project with 19 young people which included tasters with the college and training providers including Jobwise, Springboard Islington, Camden Jobtrain, Freightliners Farm, Headliners and City of Islington College.  Young people also achieved qualifications including British Red Cross First Aid Certificate.

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Information for staff working in IYSS

January Guarantee - All young people qualify for e2e or further education. See the Choice home page for January course information.

The Activity Agreement Pilot has been extended for an additional year – 2010-11. Thanks to everyone for ensuring that the project has been successful. The project has been mentioned in Investing in Potential: Our Strategy to increase the proportion of 16-24 year olds in education, employment or training strategy, see below.

Investing in Potential: Our Strategy to increase the proportion of 16-24 year olds in education, employment or training - Strategy sets out aims to drive up participation in education and training and maximise employment opportunities for those aged 16 to 24.

The Children's Plan Two Years On: a progress report - The Children’s Plan Expert Groups were asked to review the progress that has been made and advise on the challenges ahead, both for Government, and for all those working with children and young people.

Youth Participation: Growing up? - This report takes a critical look at forms of youth representation and asks three questions: who is selected, how are they selected, and what impact do they have?

Aiming High for Young People: Progress Update October 2009 - This document includes updates on initiatives, programmes and aims of the DCSF relating to the delivery of all the commitments in Aiming High.

Narrowing the Gaps: Resources to support the achievement of black and minority ethnic, disadvantaged and gifted and talented pupils – This DCSF report is about focused action to improve the progress of underachieving disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils, looked-after children and those at risk of exclusion.

Risky Behaviour and Social Activities – This study explored young people’s involvement in risky behaviour during secondary school; and at social activities young people engage in, and how they may prevent or reduce risky behaviour.

Children's Social Care Workforce Research - Now in phase three, this research is about the current and potential future roles of graduates in this workforce.  It involves a series of regional research events and a brief online anonymous questionnaire. Click here to take part. 

BIS: Post-16 Education & Skills: Learner Participation, Outcomes and Level of Highest Qualification Held - This Statistical First Release updates outcomes published in DS/SFR4 on 22 October 2009.

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Policy for Managers & Staff

Area Based Grant 2010-11 Children's Services Grants - Includes funding for services such as Connexions, Positive Activities for young people, Choice advisers, and Teenage pregnancy as part of Local Authority Children's Services Revenue Funding: 2010-11.

Drawing the Line: A report on the Government’s Vetting and Barring Scheme - This report takes into account concerns about the scheme and checks that the Government have drawn the line in the right place in relation to the requirement to register with the ISA.

Raising the Participation Age: supporting local areas to deliver – This document sets out what local authorities need to do to by 2013 and what DCSF will do nationally to support them.

Building Britain’s Recovery: Achieving Full Employment - This Paper sets out proposals to tackle the effects of the recession and to get people back to full employment. It also announces measures to ensure the recession does not give young people the worst possible start to their working lives.

The Pre Budget Report has been published and includes several points affecting young people, including: guaranteed access to a job, work experience or training to all 18-24s who have been claiming JSA for 6 months, with mandatory access from 10 months. Click here to view the full report.

Apprenticeships in England: Different types and levels- Briefing document highlighting apprenticeship headline figures and the different types of apprenticeships available. Read more.

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Staff Training, Events and Conferences

To view the course outline or to book a place on any of the following courses, please log in to the CLC online training system with your username and password. If you do not have a username and password, have forgotten your details or do not have access to the internet email CLCTraining@rbkc.gov.uk.

National IAG Standards for practitioners - This course will take place on 26 January 2010.

Employability: the truth about jobs - This course will takes place on 3 February 2010.

Citizenship Training - This is a half day introduction session which takes place on 17 February 2010. 

Practical Skills in Bid writing and sourcing funds - This course will take place on 29 March 2010.

New dates will be released shortly for the following courses: Brief Solution Focused Therapy; Working with Groups and Motivational Strategies for supporting young people who are NEET, so please look out for the e-shot or visit the CLC online training system.

Apprenticeships & Employment Training - This training is aimed at Connexions Personal Advisers who work with employers to enable them to be more effective in explaining Apprenticeships and the services Connexions offer to employers. If you are interested, please speak to your manager. 

Certificate in Supervision - LECP in partnership with Canterbury Christchurch College is offering the Certificate in Supervision Studies course which will start on 27 January 2010. To find out how to book, please click here.

Safeguarding Young Runaways (14 January) – The aim of this seminar is to enable participants to improve their skills and knowledge in working more effectively with children and young people who are at risk of running away.

Regional Events to Showcase Peer Work and Launch UK Youth’s New Level 2 Peer Qualifications (27 January) – Aimed at workers and managers who support young people aged 14+ that are engaged in peer education and peer mentoring projects. Course fee is £50, for more info and to book, click here.

Real roles live: real jobs for people with learning disabilities (27 January) – FREE event designed to support public sector organisations get people with learning disabilities into work, and provide examples, information and contacts to help do this.

Speak Up, Speak Out:  Public Speaking for Practitioners (28 January) - This training is aimed at giving those practitioners, working with young people, the ability to overcome their fear, and speak confidently to a public audience.

National Conference Apprenticeships Driving Business (4 February) – This conference, will set out strategies for FE providers and businesses to align their offers with skills frameworks.

So what is inclusion? (9 February) - The resource and training aims to support the development of inclusive practice with young disabled and non disabled people in youth work. 

Young People and Money Training day (19 February) - FREE one day training course that delivers financial capability training to those working with NEET young people.

The National Career Guidance Show (3-4 March) – This event aims to offer professionals the chance to catch up with the latest information about career routes and opportunities.

Engaging Young People Seminar (11 March) - Young Advisers is working with the Community Development Foundation to provide FREE seminars to disseminate research on what young people have identified as key barriers and enablers to their involvement.

Information, Advice and Guidance for Young People (23 March) - This event will bring together policy and decision makers, education leaders, governors, head teachers and careers co-ordinators, to examine funding arrangements, hear how IAG has a role in building skills, informing parents and tackling the effects of the economic downturn.

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Construction Employment Projections

Construction employment to fall by a quarter in London over 24 years.

Last month we looked at GLA Economics research on employment projections for London up to the year 2031. Across London, employment is predicted to project around three-quarters of a million by 2031 based on 2007 levels.

However, not all sectors are predicted to grow (in terms of employment). Manufacturing, construction, wholesale, transport and communications and public admin are projected to decline between 2007 and 2031. In many central London Connexions boroughs a third or more of jobseekers have construction as their chosen industry, so it is worth looking at projections for this sector in a little more detail.

London Construction Employment Projections (000s)

 

In 2007 around 1 in 20 working Londoners were employed in the construction industry, by 2031 this is predicted to fall to 1 in 30. The recent GLA report does not look into why employment in specific sectors is projected to increase or decrease in any detail. However, looking back to the GLA’s Laying the foundations, London’s construction industry report in 2006 gives some answers.

In 2006 around three-fifths of construction activity in London was new build, the remainder being repairs and maintenance of existing structures. So the virtual freeze on new build projects caused by the recession has obvious short-term effects.

The growth in construction of offices accounted for most of the growth in construction in London from the mid 1990s to the early 2000s. Few would predict such demand for new business space in the near future. Much of the attention of the construction industry in London may be directed towards transport projects, so the future of large scale infrastructure projects will have a big impact on construction employment in London.

So, another construction boom like that of the late 1990s/early 2000s is not predicted. In addition construction businesses in London find it easier to fill vacancies and attract workers from outside the capital. Construction workers in London have higher earnings than those across Great Britain as a whole and construction businesses in London have a lower share of unfilled or hard-to-fill vacancies than outside the capital.

It must be said that predicting future demand for construction is risky. The market for construction is influenced by the state of the property market as well as national and local government priorities. Even if construction in London does see the employment decrease predicted it does not mean it is a sector to be avoided - there will still be many good opportunities. However, some of the commonly held perceptions about the construction workforce (for example, constant boom and high demand) are increasingly at odds with the reality.

Trevor Bottomley
Employment & Labour Market Adviser
Central London Connexions
December 2009

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