Youngsters take advantage of expert advice at the MyFuture jobs fair

The Council’s Targeted Youth Support (TYS) team organised an event called “MyFuture” on 26th June at Mile End Ecology Pavilion. It was a jobs fair, designed to help young people not in education, employment or training (NEETS). Over 20 organisations took part to help match young NEETS with opportunities in education, training and employment. The event was targeted at youngsters aged 16-19 (and up to the age of 25 for those with special educational needs or learning disabilities and difficulties).

Alex Robertson, representing one of the UK’s most significant infrastructure projects Crossrail, explained how he was extremely impressed with 11 of the young people he met and would put them forward for apprenticeships. Alex said: “A lot of the young people I saw today were very keen on what we were offering; they were professional and well- spoken.”

Aleena Khanom, 17, said: “Before coming today I was really unsure about what I could do in the future. I’m pleased I came down today as I’ve had the opportunity to speak to some people and I have a better understanding of my options.”

Many other young people attending had the chance to build their confidence and speak directly with employers and training providers attending the event looking to recruit local talent for jobs, apprenticeships and courses.

Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman, said: “It is because of events like these we have consistently hit our targets for reducing the number of 16-19 year olds not in education, employment or training. We must continue to work hard with our young people to develop opportunities and provide them with the vital stepping stone they need in order to progress with their chosen career paths.”

Currently almost 800,000 young people across England are not in any employment, education or training. The council’s TYS team has been working hard with various council and third sector partners to engage with the teenagers at a local level to give them a brighter future and achieve their aspirations.

The latest figures for the DfE (Department for Education) measure period for NEETs of November 2013 to January 2014 show the lowest figure ever in Tower Hamlets of 4.6% – suggesting hard work locally is paying off. There is also anecdotal evidence suggesting that TYS team is one of the better, most pragmatic and helpful organisations working with NEETS in the borough (although why it had to call this event “MyFuture” is not at all clear).

However, only 80 young people came along to this event. This must be quite a small fraction of the NEETS in the borough. Either the Targeted Youth Support Team is not reaching everyone it could, or the NEETS do not want to come out to events like this. There is also concern that the Team’s work has to stop once the young person reaches 19, as there are many 19-25 year olds in the borough who are not in employment and would welcome constructive support.

•Young people can contact the Targeted Youth Support team on targeted.support@towerhamlets.gov.uk or on 020-7364 5834.