More than 250 young people supported back into education and employment

McDonald's is one of Upturn's employment partners

A locally-based social enterprise has helped more than 250 young people secure employment, training and education opportunities.

Upturn, an award-winning enterprise helping to improve the lives and create opportunities for disadvantaged communities and diverse groups across the region, has been working with young people from Oldham and Rochdale through the Local Change programme.

Supported by the Reaching Communities Fund, Upturn’s team of community champions and life and talent coaches have been helping youngsters from hard-to-reach communities unlock their future potential.

The majority of the 251 project participants have been drawn from deprived, hard to reach communities that were disproportionately affected by the pandemic and struggled to get a job or had been impacted by redundancy.

The team at Upturn worked with the participants over a 12-month period to help build their confidence and self-esteem through volunteering, training, and employment opportunities.

Participants had access to dedicated one to one assessments with a talent coach alongside sector specific training, information, advice, and guidance. 

They also worked with ‘real life ambassadors’ who have previously gone through the process and received mentoring support.

In addition, everyone received support and advice on health and wellbeing, advice on benefits, financial and debt matters, and signposting to local support centres where appropriate.

Since starting their journey with Upturn, 154 participants have generated better life chances, securing local jobs, training and/or further education and 56 participants entered further education or training courses across a range of sectors, including health and social care, ITC, public services, HR and engineering.

Maria Williams, co-founder and HRM director at Upturn, said: “This program has changed the lives of all the individuals who took part for the better.

"With careful engagement, our team has helped to inspire and motivate young people through a range of activities to help them into employment/training opportunities or back into education.

“We listened to what they wanted, working closely with them to work out the best approach to bring stability into their lives and avoid them falling further behind.

“I also want to thank the local employers who worked with us and the young people to show the opportunities available to them.

“Young people were hit the hardest by the pandemic and our programme is ensuring that no one is left behind.”

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