A recent YouGov poll for Depaul UK, found 65 percent of British adults believe society has a responsibility to ensure young people have access to a stable job, despite youth unemployment being at its highest rate since 1984.
This statistic is in stark contrast to the nine out of 10 (90%) British adults who agree that society has a responsibility to ensure these same young people have access to an education.
Depaul UK CEO Mike Thiedke, said: “The pandemic has forced too many young people out of work and education by disrupting schools, colleges and universities across the country, and blocking access to apprenticeships and training. When times are hard, most of us can turn to family and friends for stability, support and guidance. But the young people we support through our services often have no one to get them back on their feet.
“At Depaul UK, we’re ready to stand up for them. We believe that young people should have the opportunity to access stable employment and achieve their full potential.”
Through our Steps to Success programme, Depaul provides one-to-one support, to help young people escaping homelessness back into education and employment.
One in four of the young people we spoke to in our homelessness services for a recent report said that they were unable to continue their studies due to the pandemic.
Amelia, 18, became homeless during the first lockdown of 2020 and was placed in Depaul accommodation by her council. Through the Steps to Success programme she has been supported into employment in the care sector.
Amelia said: “It feels incredible. I was always a motivated person, but with everything that happened with my family and college, I just lost all my confidence. I was in a really low place. Steps to Success and the people at Depaul were really patient with me. They gave me the push I needed but they were patient with me, which was what I needed. And now I have the job, the career that I wanted.”
As well as tailored advice and mental health support, we provide guidance for each young person we work with, connecting them to mentoring and training that reflects their unique interests, abilities and aspirations.
