Hundreds of Lancashire students to access work experience through the £2.3million Future Ready Fund
Lancashire is one of 10 areas across England to be awarded funding through the £2.3 million Future Ready Fund, a three-year programme designed to close the career readiness gap through high-quality, modern work experience.
A total of 375 secondary school pupils from 25 Lancashire schools are set to take part in a ground breaking scheme which is designed to close the career readiness gap through high-quality, modern work experience.
The Future Ready Fund is delivered by The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC), the national body for careers education in England and supported by JPMorganChase.
In Lancashire, the Careers Hub will focus on supporting students from schools that are located in the areas with the highest economic inactivity, ensuring support is targeted where it can make the greatest difference. Evidence shows that while high-quality work experience can significantly improve employability and workplace skills, access remains unequal, with disadvantaged young people least likely to benefit.
Now moving into full delivery, the fund will support the same cohorts of young people over three years, tracking their progress through to 2030. CEC will evaluate the impact and publish the findings to share best practice in modern work experience across the country.
The Future Ready Fund aims to:
- Improve career readiness, employability and foundational workplace skills for socio-economically disadvantaged young people
- Increase the capability and capacity of employers to deliver high-quality work experience
- Build the evidence base for what works and share best practice across the careers sector
The aim is to build career readiness, employability and foundational workplace skills for socio-economically disadvantaged young people, while the programme will also increase the capability and capacity of employers to deliver high-quality work experience and build and share best practice across the careers sector.
50 employers are supporting the project with work experience activities taking place to bring the young people and employers together.
Cllr Simon Evans, Chair of the Skills Advisory Board at Lancashire Combined County Authority, said: "We know while high-quality work experience can significantly improve employability and workplace skills, access remains unequal, with disadvantaged young people least likely to benefit.
"With this in mind, I am delighted that Lancashire has been chosen for this ground breaking scheme, which will focus on ensuring support is targeted for our young people in the places where it can make the greatest difference in a range of schools and employers through the Lancashire Careers Hub."
“We are investing in skills and training to help U.K. residents access greater career opportunities, because we think engaged labour force participation is a critical element of the strong economy that benefits U.K. business.” said Anna Dunn, CEO of JPMorganChase U.K. “Our continued investments will support the U.K.’s increased focus on boosting skills and pathways to quality careers.”
John Yarham, Chief Executive, The Careers & Enterprise Company, said: “Too many young people face barriers to becoming career ready. Not because of a lack of potential, but because of unequal access to support, including high-quality work experience.
"The Future Ready Fund is about changing that. By working with Careers Hubs, schools and employers to design bespoke, modern work experiences, we can help young people build confidence, skills and a clearer sense of their future. This partnership with JPMorganChase shows what is possible when the public and private sectors work together to tackle inequality at scale.”
Notes to editors
About The Careers & Enterprise Company
- The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) is the national body for careers education in England, supporting schools and colleges to deliver modern, 21st century careers education, whose mission is to help every young person find their best next step.
- CEC has a network of 44 Careers Hubs across England covering 96% of all schools and has a network of 429 Cornerstone employers and over 4,100 business volunteers.
- The Lancashire Careers Hub is a collaboration of 161 secondary schools, colleges and wider educational establishments across the whole region who work together to deliver the Gatsby Benchmarks. Collaborating with business partners, the public, education and voluntary sectors, they help improve careers outcomes and work ready skills of young people.
- Lancashire Careers Hub is co-funded by the Careers and Enterprise Company, Lancashire Combined County Authority, Lancashire County Council, Blackpool Council and Blackburn with Darwen Council and is overseen by the Lancashire Skills and Employment Hub. The Hub contract is with Inspira who undertake day-to-day delivery. Inspira is a charity and leading employability skills expert, providing free professional careers advice and guidance to help people develop the skills they need to secure better employment. Inspira empowers young people and adults to reach their potential in work, life and society, offering a wide range of free services and programmes.
About The Future Ready Fund
The Future Ready Fund is a £2.3 million, three-year national programme designed to close the career readiness gap for young people facing socio-economic disadvantage and other barriers. Delivered by The Careers & Enterprise Company and supported with JPMorganChase, the fund supports high-quality, modern work experience that builds confidence, employability and essential workplace skills. Working with Careers Hubs, schools and employers across England, the programme provides sustained, progressive experiences over three years while building the evidence base for what works in preparing young people for the future workforce.
JPMorganChase in the United Kingdom
With a legacy dating back more than 200 years, JPMorganChase has a track record of demonstrating leadership during times of both economic growth and financial instability. The firm provides £600 billion in credit and capital to nearly 4,500 medium and large companies and supports over two million retail customers. At the same time, together with its non-profit partners the firm has supported over 33,000 low income households to reduce their debt and improve their financial health, helped over 20,000 small businesses to grow their activity and placed over 9,800 individuals into apprenticeships or full and part-time employment.