The six-month pilot Pathways programme Barnet Homes that supported alongside partners including Barnet Council and Job Centre Plus has helped seven young people back into employment.
The Pathways programme, which started last summer and its objective was to support young people aged 16-24 into a variety of employment opportunities.
A minimum of six young people received a three week training package to give them a City & Guilds Level 2 qualification in Personal Development and Employability.
Once each young person completed the course they got a one-to-one session with the Pathways co-ordinator to help them assess (with the use of the Outcomes star monitoring tool) how their progress on job specific skills, aspirations and motivation.
24-year-old Nadia joined the Pathways programme in September, successfully completing a City& Guilds course in Employability Skills and Personal Development.
After completing the course Nadia received regular one-to-one support, she was successful in gaining an IT internship with a local employer.
Nadia said of the support she got from the Pathways Programme: “When I got the call to say I got the job I was over the moon, I could use the skills I had learnt through my IT and networking skills that I had learnt at college. I have learnt many new things and feel more stable since working. The Pathways programme really helped my confidence and interview skills. My mentor played a huge support in supporting me to gain my internship. She always had various opportunities to offer me and made me believe in myself which helped motivate me. Thank you so much for this great opportunity.”
Barnet Homes Youth Engagement Officer Shabina Cannon, said: “I supported 12 young people and I am pleased to say seven of the 12 gained employment/apprenticeships. The Pathways programme has been a great success and I have thoroughly enjoyed working on this project. It gave me great pleasure to support these young people in making positive changes to their lives.”