Developing the workforce of the future

Earlier this year, the Institute for Employment Studies found that around a fifth of employers did not hire from the 22-25 age group and two-fifths didn’t hire anyone aged 18-21. Just over a quarter hired younger workers because it’s more affordable, with interviews recording that it was often into low-skilled and low-paid jobs. Obstacles were identified as a lack of skills (42%), lack of experience (36%) and a lack of confidence (34%).¹

Too many young people continue to face the catch 22: no skills, no job; no job, no skills but for others, the danger has become: no skills, dead-end job; dead-end job, no skills. According to the Skills Builder Partnership, once in work, 46% of young people felt able to regularly build their essential skills but nearly the same proportion (45%) did not.²

<sup>1. Institute for Employment Studies, 2023, Bridging the Gap: Making young people a vital part of every workforce
2. Skills Builder Partnership, 2021, Better Prepared, Essential skills and employment outcomes for young people</sup>

Making the case for youth social action

“Challenges with recruitment were one of the key issues facing employers in 2022… investing in the young workforce is an intrinsic part of the solution.” –Institute for Employment Studies³

The urgent need for programmes like City Year UK, which help diverse young adults bypass the ‘skills trap’ of low pay and low prospects and lead to ‘good jobs’, is clear. However in 2022-2023, the cost of living crisis hit our mentor recruitment. We dipped from 105 full-time volunteers in 2021-2022 to 96 and of those not completing the programme, nearly 1 in 5 gave finances as the reason.

^{3. Institute for Employment Studies, 2023, Bridging the Gap: Making young people a vital part of every workforce}

Developing our Careers Pathway programme

Our aim is to ensure that City Year is accessible to diverse young people and that giving a year is worth their investment. Our mentors need to have the confidence that they’ll gain the right skills and opportunities for their journey into worthwhile employment.

Steps to improve take up of the mentor role

• deepened our understanding of the target market
• re-stated our case for City Year as a stand out option post-18, post-university or for a student placement
• piloted targeted, holistic support for NEET young people

Value added to accelerate career progression

• goal not just to get a job but to get a better job
• additional CMI Level 3 qualification

Improved access to business and employer engagement

• focused post-pandemic on providing in-workplace visits
• partnered with a broader range of industries
• introduced paid internship opportunities post City Year

Future plans

In 2023-2024, in response to the cost of living crisis:

• increasing mentor expenses by 25%
• piloting part-time service model

Longer term:

• aspire to provide end of programme grants to support mentors’ progression
• continue to campaign for better recognition of UK Year of Service and provision of minimum wage.

Measuring our impact with the Skills Builder Partnership

“The mission of the Skills Builder Partnership is to ensure everyone builds the essential skills to succeed. Higher levels of essential skills means people are less likely to be unemployed and they have higher levels of wellbeing. But we also know that opportunities to build these skills effectively are limited, particularly for individuals starting from a position of disadvantage and from underserved groups.

“Skills Builder are delighted to be working with City Year UK to provide mentors with opportunities to effectively build essential skills. These young people are supported brilliantly to identify their strengths and areas for development, to reflect on the essential skills they are building throughout the programme, and to track and celebrate the progression they are making. The leadership and development programme has achieved a Skills Builder Impact Level 4, the highest level that can be achieved, because it supports the mentors in setting goals for the skills they want to develop and, after the programme, to track and quantify the progress they have made.”
–Tom Varley, Impact Organisations Manager, Skills Builder Partnership

In 2022-2023, our mentors made significant gains across all 8 essential skills defined by the Skills Builder Partnership as the highly transferable skills that you need to do almost any job. ‘Listening’ showed the highest overall rating and ‘speaking’ registered the greatest improvement. The measurement tool is based on self-assessment but every mentor cross references their scores with their school’s City Year staff member to ensure a robust rating.

Linking skills to prospects

Research by the Skills Builder Partnership has correlated those with higher skills with improved social mobility, employment, earnings, job and life satisfaction. Using their calculator, we can estimate potential life outcomes for specific age groups, linked to the skills they gained during their City Year.