OPERA Global Youth Foundation - Investing in the Future Workforce

In a poll of REC members in August last year, more than half predicted that the biggest impact on their business over the next five to seven years would be a shortage of candidates with the right skills.

 The partnership between OPERA, the first recruitment-led youth foundation, and the REC intends to help provide meaningful and practical help for young people facing unemployment and also to address the future skills gap.

Last year 50 recruitment and staffing businesses along with over 500 individual fundraisers delivered over 45 fundraising and volunteering events to help generate over £100,000 for OPERA’s #thrivefund. Because of these great efforts: over 270 young people across the UK have been supported to enter the workplace for the first time.

Emilee is one person who has benefited from this.
Kicked out of home at the age of 16, Emilee struggled at school and found herself in an abusive situation from which she had to be removed. A single mum, isolated and living in a refuge, Emilee knew she needed to turn her life around. Enrolling on a 12 week personal development programme, she went on to study for her GCSEs but struggled to complete assignments as she only had access to computers at college. A bursary from the #thrivefund allowed her to buy a laptop so she could study whilst looking after her daughter. As a result, she passed her GCSEs with A*-C grades and got the determination to complete a higher education course. Emilee has now been accepted onto a Psychology course at university and is looking forward to her future and being able to provide for her daughter.

Positive stories like Emilee’s are great and while unemployment figures are improving, youth unemployment rates remain stubbornly high. With an estimated 2 million young people facing unemployment in the UK at some point in the year, many bright and capable young people are stuck in a cycle of low paid under-employment.

The Prince’s Trust Macquarie Youth Index 2018 reports that young people’s happiness and confidence have dropped to the lowest levels since the index was first commissioned in 2009. It’s not that young people don’t have aspirations, 67 percent of those surveyed described themselves as ambitious and two thirds of those in work felt that they could be doing more with their careers. The problem is usually a lack of opportunity, not being able to get the right work experience or develop working skills inhibits entry to the work force and worst of all: depletes self-confidence which then fundamentally limits a young person’s upward mobility. They are disillusioned with the jobs market, feel they must put their ambitions on hold and are concerned for their future careers.

Young people like Emilee and those surveyed by the Maquarie Youth Index are our future workforce. We need to invest in them and provide the right support, not just practical and financial, but also emotional to help them thrive in work.

To find out how to help contact rosie@weareopera.org or donate direct.

Additional notes:

You can read OPERA’s 2017 Impact Report in full on our website: http://news.weareopera.org/