Preston's Invest in Youth Project
Preston's Invest in Youth (IIY) project is specifically designed to support young people in Preston aged between 14 and 24 years. This new project will engage with eligible residents who are furthest from the labour market, helping them overcome their personal barriers to economic activity.
This project is supported by The Lancashire Colleges and will combine and continue some of the valuable and impactful successes that local delivery partners have achieved over the last six years through European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) projects, the model being an intensive Key worker support project.
Visit Selnet - Preston's Invest in Youth Project
Who the project can help
Eligible participants must live in Preston (within Preston City Council's district) and must be economically inactive (individuals are those not in work and not actively seeking work - unlike unemployed individuals who are actively seeking work).
Participants engaged will include, but are not limited to, young people with:
- Poor physical or mental health
- No or low skills / work experience
- Care Leavers
- Poor experience within the care system
- Substance abuse
- Experience of criminality
- Experience of domestic violence
- Benefit dependency
- Homelessness
- Financial difficulties
- Social isolation or loneliness
- Lack of motivation, aspiration and trust
To be eligible for support, individuals must be:
- Aged 14-24 Years old
- Economically Inactive (those not in work and not actively seeking work) or NEET
- Lives in Preston (within boundaries of Preston City Council)
- Legally resident in the UK and able to take paid employment in the UK (if over 18)
How the project can help?
A designated keyworker will offer a holistic package of support including accessing services preventative action, community empowerment and capacity building.
Invest in Youth Keyworkers will work with participants throughout their journey with the project. They will help them to recognise their barriers to inclusion and provide support to towards achieving their personal aspirations.
All support is tailored, to the individuals' need and is wholly led by the beneficiaries, typically lasting for 3 - 4 months, through to over 12 months for beneficiaries with more complex needs.
Get in touch today
For accessing IIY support in Preston please email daisy@selnet-uk.com or call 01772 200690 and ask about the "Invest in Youth project in Preston".
About the Invest in Youth Preston's project delivery partners
Alternatively, the Invest in Youth project partners in Preston are as follows.
Beanstalk
Beanstalk is a social enterprise providing Employment and Skills support. Their mentoring and training enables individuals to access employment and training opportunities in an inclusive and empowering environment. Additionally, their Food and Cookery provision delivers valuable job skills and personal growth through cooking and food skills training in communities and educational settings.
Beanstalk's initiatives are driven by community needs and cater to diverse learning preferences.
For support from Beanstalk through Preston's Invest in Youth project, call 0300 3655530 or contact Kerry Stevens on kerry@beanstalkbusiness.co.uk.
Creativity Works
Creativity Works provides employability support to access employment or become self-employed.
After initial engagement each young person is assigned a Tutor whose first task is to carry out an initial assessment in order to identify prior learning and individual needs. This initial assessment then goes forward to form the basis of the Individual Learning Plan, which contains the qualifications that will be worked towards, target dates for achievement and the activities that will be carried out to meet the required objectives.
Participants can choose from a variety of options ranging from Hair and Beauty to constriction or a mix of programmes.
Creativity Works is a social enterprise that offers an alternative form of education to people who need or prefer to learn in a different way to the traditional education system that is predominantly academically based to one that is project-oriented and provides individualistic tuition. They provide clear, manageable goals and frameworks for people who need - or want - learning and practice to be closely connected.
For support from Creativity Works through Preston's Invest in Youth project, call 01772 555123 or email Steve Egan on steve@creativityworkspreston.org.uk.
Education Business Partnership North West
Education Business Partnership North West (EBP) help to prepare young people for the world of work, by working in partnership with schools and businesses across the North West of England.
Through Preston's Invest in Youth project, EBP North West brings education and business together to help young people to flourish, develop their skills and nurture the talent of Preston's future workforce.
For support through EBP North West, call 01254 433390 or contact Emma Woan on emma@ebpnw.co.uk
Lancashire Community Finance
Lancashire Community Finance (LCF) is a not-for-profit community organisation working in Preston since 2005. They aim to help disadvantaged and vulnerable people achieve economic, financial and social inclusion, through their person-centred approach to support they provide.
We equip our service users with the tools needed to manage independently in the long-term, to be resilient in the face of unexpected events and to appreciate the benefit of accessing support at an early stage should things go wrong in the future.
The people LCF help are residents in the most disadvantaged communities (82% live in the third most deprived areas in England), service users who live with a disability (42% of working-age service users identify as disabled), are either not in work (69% of service users) or employed in low-paid, insecure, precarious jobs.
For support from LCF through Preston's Move Forward project, contact Adam Wadie on adamwadie@lancashirecommunityfinance.co.uk
Preston North End Community and Education Trust
Preston North End Community and Education Trust (PNECET) is the official charity of Preston North End Football Club. Utilising the power and appeal of Preston North End Football Club and football as a whole, they situate themselves at the heart of the Preston community, providing a high-quality service to improve people's lives.
Through IIY Preston, their provision is centred around Community Engagement, Education, and Health and Wellbeing; through services connecting young people from all walks of life, supporting people to achieve their goals and helping them to make positive changes, ultimately creating a safer, stronger and more resilient community.
PNECET support participants by accessing long-term sustainable activities to empower them to build on their achievements and continue reaping the benefits of employability activities. Participants will be offered support to sustain their involvement as a volunteer within Trust until a positive outcome is achieved.
For support from PNE's Community and Education Trust through Preston's Invest in Youth project, email Liam Sealey on liamsealey@pne.com
Preston Vocational Centre
Preston Vocational Centre's Mission is to deliver the highest quality construction based vocational training and support to enable young people and adults gain skills, qualifications and confidence to enhance their full potential and build a positive future.
As part of the Invest in Youth project they will deliver a range of City and Guilds construction-based qualifications as well as the employability skills.
The courses they will deliver will concentrate on practical skills within a range of units covering the following trades:
- Plastering and Rendering
- Brickwork and Blockwork
- Plumbing and Tiling
- Joinery and Carpentry
- Painting and Decorating
- Health and Safety
Preston Vocational Centre has a proven track record of supporting young people to overcome their complex needs, and provide the necessary support to build their confidence, self-esteem and make them more employable by providing high quality training and pathways to employment.
For support from Preston Vocational Centre through Preston's Invest in Youth project, call 01772 880680 or email Martin Grayston on martin.grayston@prestonvocationalcentre.co.uk
Wot Wud U Do
Wot Wud U Do's mission is to instil self-belief in the young minds they engage with, empowering them to positively influence their peers and discover their full potential.
They develop young people's life skills, employability and work readiness through a series of workshops that revolve around the skills builder framework and lead up to a 'Dragon's Den' styled event, where the young people present and pitch their ideas for youth led social action projects that provides solutions to local problems
Wot Wud U Do believes in the transformative power of individuals to create a lasting impact on their communities, shaping the world they inhabit. Working across Lancashire, they are dedicated to nurturing and developing networks and partnerships that bring together young people from various backgrounds, empowering them to collaborate and bring about constructive transformations.
They establish pathways for young people to take on leadership roles and actively engage in shaping projects, nurturing a profound sense of ownership and empowerment within them.
For support from Wot Wud U Do through Preston's Invest in Youth project, call 07850 043313 or email Dave Clayton on dave@www.wotwududo.co.uk
About Selnet
As Lancashire's social enterprise network, Selnet are proud to lead this specialist partnership whose work will transform the futures of young people in Preston. This project is based on the successes and impacts of the Building Better Opportunities Invest In Youth project which delivered support across Lancashire for 7 years.