Lewisham is one of seven places selected to receive a share of the £16million Youth Futures Foundation ‘Connected Futures’ grants programme, helping young people overcome barriers to getting a job.
Posted: 13/10/2022
Following a competitive selection process, Lewisham Council – has secured a share of the £16m Connected Futures Fund to help tackle youth employment, working in partnership with Phoenix Community Housing and Circle Collective. The scheme is delivered through Youth Futures Foundation – a not-for-profit organisation established in 2019 to improve employment outcomes for young people from less advantaged backgrounds.
The programme aims to provide young people who face barriers to employment, with the support they need to build their careers and access great quality jobs. It is funded via the Dormant Assets Scheme, which releases funds from dormant bank and building society accounts – accounts where no transactions have been carried out for the past 15 years – to support good causes.
The Lewisham partnership will support young people in Downham and surrounding areas in the south of the borough – where youth unemployment is 50% higher than it was pre-pandemic and where complex barriers to employment are 21% higher than in the rest of Lewisham.
The Council will collaborate with key stakeholders, partners and agencies to support Connected Futures when it officially launches. Further funding will become available for future phases of the project.
For more information and to find out how to be part of the programme, please contact the team JobsAndSkills@lewisham.gov.uk.
