EMBARGOED: 00:01hrs Wednesday 22 January 2014

£6MTO HELP JOBLESS YOUTH
IN DERBY AND NOTTINGHAM

The New Year is looking a lot brighter for young jobseekers in Derby and Nottingham as the Big Lottery Fund today (Wednesday) announces the area is to receive over £6m from Talent Match, its £108m youth unemployment initiative.

The news comes as the latest job figures are released today by the Office for National Statistics.

The Big Lottery Fund, the largest distributor of good cause money from the National Lottery, launched Talent Match, a scheme designed by young people for young people, with the aim of helping those aged 18-24 who are struggling the most to find career opportunities. Now the Fund has awarded the Greater Nottingham Groundwork Trust£6,150,000 to help local young people who have been unemployed or out of education for at least 12 months.

Talent Match projects are led by a cross-sector partnership with a key focus on employers, particularly from the private sector, to ensure that it meets local needs and young people are given opportunities get the skills to find employment.

The Trust will now use themoney to work up local solutions to a nationwide problem that threatens serious consequences for an entire generation of young people and the wider economy.The ACEVO Commission on Youth Unemployment has estimated that the issue will cost £28 billion over the next decade.Local employers showing support for Groundwork’s new project include AlphaGraphics and Hanlon Systems.

Groundwork will be targeting a total of 27 local hot spots which contain over 3,000 young people facing long-term unemployment and where, in some of these wards, the number of young people claiming Job Seekers Allowance was twice the national average.

Nat Sloane, England Chair of the Big Lottery Fund, said: ‘Youth unemployment is an issue that threatens the hopes of an entire generation as well as our whole economic wellbeing. Talent Match promises to help the very hardest to reach young people to make the most of their skills and ambitions, not just as an end goal, but by giving them a say in how the programme itself is designed and put into practice. The funding announced today is a key step on a very exciting journey as it means the real work can now begin. By bringing together the private sector and the knowledge of key charities, Talent Match will help ensure today’s young people have the maximum help and support they need to find a fulfilling and rewarding career.’

Jo Bradley-Fortune, the Executive Director of Groundwork Greater Nottinghamsaid:‘We are delighted to be working in partnership with young people to find the solutions that meet with their needs. With an impressive array of voluntary, private and statutory sector providers we want the long term vision to be realised for the young people who have found it most difficult to secure employment. Theirdrive and vision sitting alongside key stakeholders investmentis the essence of future working andsuccess built on need rather than availability.’

Daniel Roach, aged 18 from Killisick, said: ‘I am excited about the opportunities the Talent Match programme will bring to young people in the East Midlands. I have been involved in the commissioning process with Groundwork and feel really positive about the power young people have been given in making important decisions of how the money will be spent. This will give me an important and unique experience so I look forward to working with other young people to achieve the most for our peers across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.’

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Notes to Editors

  • The Big Lottery Fund, the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
  • The Fund is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK. Since its inception in 2004 BIG has awarded close to £6bn.
  • The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
  • In the year ending 31 March 2013, 28% of total National Lottery revenue was returned to the Good Causes
  • Since the National Lottery began in 1994, over £30 billion has now been raised and more than 400,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.

Ends//

Issued: 21/01/2014

PN 14-01-26