Hidden Talents: Re-Engaging Young People
A Delegate’s Perspective
For anyone involved in work on apprenticeships or, more broadly, the engagement of young people, the recent Hidden Talents Conference at the LGA provided a great opportunity for an exchange of ideas and best practice.
The conference programme offered an array of speakers drawn from national and local government as well as the third sector.
A number of issues cropped up repeatedly throughout the plenary sessions and workshops.
For example, there was much debate surrounding the use of the NEET acronym to characterise certain groups of young people. Some claimed that the term leads us to focus exclusively on the negative, thereby ignoring many of the positive attributes that young people possess. Others drew attention to the fact that the term NEET is too broad; a child on a gap year in Peru is, for instance, technically NEET.
Also, despite the many positive messages about apprenticeships, we were reminded that, on their own, apprenticeships are not a magic wand when it comes to helping the most vulnerable young people. Entry to employment schemes and even pre-entry to employment schemes are often needed to help such persons reach the level of competency that an apprenticeship requires. Furthermore, constant support from mentors and youth workers needs to be maintained throughout the young person’s placement. Jacqueline Nolan presented an excellent case study on how South Tyneside utilises these kinds of support mechanisms with their apprentices.
All in all, a very informative day.
For more information, please contact
Tom Goodwin.