The Paviors Company is pleased to support the work of the Construction Youth Trust. The Trust’s mission is to inspire and enable young people to overcome barriers and achieve their full career potential, particularly those whose background provides a barrier to employment. The Trust has recently published its Impact Report for 2022, which can be read by clicking here.
The Report notes that over 21,000 young people were reached in 2022, with 770 of these enrolled on targeted support programmes and more than 550 supported into meaningful employment, education or training. Of those assisted, nearly 90% met the Trust’s criteria for being ‘disadvantaged’.
The Trust has focused its operations through nine geographic ‘hubs’ in London and Kent, where there is a clear community need. This approach enables the development of local knowledge and expertise. It establishes long-term relationships with the local schools and colleges, employers, housing associations, local authorities and other stakeholders in the community. The work in schools has broadened career horizons and given students an insight into high-value modern apprenticeship pathways. In these hubs, over 70 per cent of the young people involved in the Trust’s work said that this improved their understanding of the skills sought by employers, and nearly 90 per cent said that they improved their knowledge of careers in the construction and built-environment sector.
Over 200 companies supported the Trust’s work by providing over 1,000 volunteers to run training and awareness sessions. Over 500 young people participated in work-experience opportunities, with nearly 90% of the participants reporting that this helped to give a better understanding of the skills required by employers. Recognising that young people from disadvantaged backgrounds have more obstacles to overcome to gain employment in professional areas, the Trust has developed innovative pathways for 16-18 year-olds with a professional career-development programme. Each young person is supported on a one-to-one basis by a dedicated coach. Nearly 200 people were supported in this way in 2022.
Youth unemployment continues to be an issue in London, and the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis have exacerbated this problem. With this in mind, the Trust has set the following targets for the next two years:
• Provide 1,625 young people in schools and colleges with transition or one-to-one support
• Support 1,250 young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET)
• Ensure that 75 per cent of participants are supported into meaningful employment, education or training