Innovation Exchange

Festival of Ideas—Excluded Young People.

1. What is the problem to solve?
How to engage NEET young people aged 16-18 years and other socially excluded young people in positive education/training/employment (ETE) initiatives. A vast array of provision for young people already exists–but despite the calls for co-ordination much of it is still single agency focused, does not really join up in a structured network and fails to truly engage employers and excluded young people themselves.
There is a real need for an innovative project where NEET and socially excluded young people are directly engaged in driving for more effective co-ordination of ETE provision. This proposal will provide this opportunity and as a result also enable the young people to themselves access positive education, training and employment support..

2. How to do this?

The search for the YETI of the Himalayas has proved unsuccessful.
Similarly the search for one innovative, simple, single solution to NEET and other excluded young people is equally elusive.
The needs of the wide range of young people categorized as NEET /socially excluded are patently so diverse that no one solution can fit all.
What is needed is an individualized, personalised approach that engages young people in determining an action plan which draws on all forms of youth support in the area, with the support of a key worker. Support should not be short term, but might continue over 1, 2 or 3 years on and off. This Action Plan should draw on the best practice that already exists.
This good practice and all the ETE opportunities that exist in a local area needs to be mapped on a database with a GIS mapping on a YEETI web site (and/or added to existing well used youth websites).
The key is that this will be done by the young people themselves with training and support from key workers and volunteers (or existing staff) from business and education and training agencies.

Hence the proposal for a successful search for a YEETI—a Youth Employment, Education and Training Innovation .
This is a model providing an individualised network approach to meeting the education/employment and training needs of young people.
The Project is influenced by the model of Youth Community Mapping Networks pioneered in the USA and world wide by the Academy for Educational Development (AED).
The focus would be on engaging the target group of young people in being trained to go into the community, talk to businesses, companies, employers and education and training providers and find out what jobs (full and part time) and education/training opportunities are available.
Mapping youth ETE provision through GIS.
This information would be collected and mapped geographically and on a data base on a web site. Excluded young people would be trained by staff and volunteers from companies/employers. Significant use would be made of peer support from ‘older’ young people who have made it into employment in any field. This would include young people, from similar backgrounds who have experienced the benefits of education and training. NEET and excluded young people would receive incentives and payment for some of their time in building up this resource bank. They would gain experience of meeting adults, interviewing, collating data etc. There could be a theme related to on an on- line social network of ETE provision for young people.
There would also be a particular focus on part time paid jobs for young people not old enough to enter full time employment. The data bank, based on young peoples knowledge (and including comments on provision!) would encourage the NEET group to take up education/training and employment opportunities as they would have more direct knowledge of them through doing the ETE youth mapping research in their areas.
The database and mapping of ETE provision would be driven by the young peoples’ approach and style.
Professional ETE staff from the many different agencies in a locality could also use this easy access web site which would map and provide information on all ETE provision in a local area.
This model could then be replicated throughout any locality on a franchise basis. Any income generated would be fed back into the project . The project would be established as a charity and social enterprise to give the NEET and excluded young people experience of setting up and working in a social enterprise.
Action Acton ( a registered charity, Development Trust and emerging social enterprise) could provide a physical base for the project and oversee development with a steering group of young people, private, public and voluntary sector agencies.

3. Who would benefit.?
The NEET group and other excluded young people. Funding bodies who could get better value for money from a YEETI Network co-ordinated approach to ETE. Professionals working in the youth field who could engage in a more co-ordinated way. Employers who could contribute their expertise and get young people better prepared to work in their business. Society through reduction in costs associated with crime and other disruptive behaviour by young people who face barriers to Education/training and Employment .

John Blackmore, Chief Executive, Action Acton. John.blackmore@actionacton.com 020 8993 9605 www.actionacton.com