From education to employment

Movement to Work announces delivery of 80,000 work placements

Movement to Work announces delivery of 80,000 work placements for unemployed young people, providing over £1bn of benefit to the UK economy.

MtW announced at its annual CEO Summit and Awards on 4 February 2019 that its employer members, including FTSE 100 companies and SMEs, have delivered 80,000 work placements over the last five years, for young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET).

Alok Sharma, Minister of State for Employment, pays tribute to Movement to Work and its partner employers for delivering skills and prospects to young people who need extra support to get on the career ladder UK work-placement charity, Movement to Work (MtW).

Alok Sharma, Minister of State for Employment, said:

The overall UK employment rate is at an all-time high, with more people in work than ever before, and youth unemployment has almost halved since 2010. But we cannot be complacent and I am determined to ensure that we make further progress to ensure that every young person has the opportunity to benefit from a stable job.

The really positive news is that these 80,000 placements have led to tens of thousands of young people getting that opportunity in the work place and I pay tribute to Movement to Work and all the employers involved, who are joining together to deliver the skills set and work prospects which young people want.

Ivan Menezes, chairman of Movement to Work and chief executive of Diageo, said:

We believe in the potential of all young people and know that by providing placements and other opportunities that lead to meaningful work, we can support young people to fulfil their potential. Meaningful employment is key to their wellbeing, enables them to contribute to their communities and brings prosperity to so many. 

This is not just the right thing to do for young people, it is the right thing to do for business. We are unlocking a pool of talent for our organisations, uncovering a loyal and motivated workforce and increasing current workforce engagement as they mentor these young people to succeed. We know that supporting young people works for them, for employers and broader society. Thankfully our employer members believe this too and have contributed to this incredible figure of 80,000 placements.

MtW is a collaboration of UK employers committed to tackling youth unemployment through the provision of high-quality work experience and other work opportunities. Since 2013, 80,000 work placements have been made possible by employers, charities and Government working together through MtW, with over 50% of those completing placements going onto employment or education.

Collectively they have provided young people with diverse and empowering experiences ranging from hospitality to engineering. The placement programmes lead to tangible results for young people with more than 50 per cent of those finishing placements going back to education or into employment.

The programmes delivered by the collaboration equate to an economic value to the UK of over £1bn over the four-year period, with young people moving into employment no longer claiming benefits, paying tax and spending their pay. The figure illustrates the cumulative impact of those obtaining work, multiplied by the cost saving to the Government and benefit to the economy (using research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, based on the living wage and also assuming a conservative 90% retention rate year on year). 

MtW’s CEO Summit and Awards brings together CEOs and other senior leaders from the UK’s most well-known employers, charities and graduates from MtW’s members’ employability schemes to showcase the achievements of young people who have benefited from support to get on the career ladder.

The event included BT Sport anchor Jake Humphrey, football pundit, and former player Rio Ferdinand and vlogger Spencer Owen, who spent time with the young people to share advice and experiences.

Working with MtW, employers create work experience placements for unemployed young people between 16-30 years of age, particularly those who have been out of work, education or training for some time.

MtW works with charity partners that specialise in addressing particular issues, which includes long-term unemployment, homelessness, mental-health and young offenders. These charities help to provide a pipeline of young people who will benefit from a work placement. 

Employers working with MtW have recognised that recruiting in this way makes both ethical and financial sense through lower recruitment costs, the enhanced loyalty of placement graduates, improved morale of existing staff and the ability to build in-house talent through training.

Employer members include:

  • Accenture,
  • BAE Systems,
  • Barclays,
  • BT,
  • BUPA,
  • Centrica,
  • the Department for Work and Pensions,
  • Diageo,
  • HSBC,
  • IBM,
  • Marks and Spencer,
  • Marriott International,
  • NHS,
  • Tesco,
  • Unilever and
  • Wates, amongst others

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