Steps to a Brighter Future

Led by North Tyneside council in partnership with FIRST, Steps to a Brighter Future is holistic approach to supporting people aged 18 – 29 and living in North Tyneside, to develop essential skills, undertake meaningful work placements and progress into sustainable employment or self-employment. The project is part-funded by the European Social Fund.

As part of the project, FIRST are offering participants:

Access to tailored work placement opportunities in innovative startups and SMEs across the region
Enterprise skill development support for those who are looking to explore self-employment

Building Steps is a collaborative project to ensure we are able to meet the diverse needs of young people across North Tyneside. Additional support on offer covers everything from leadership training to mock interviews and CV building. The current consortium members are North Tyneside Council, Engaging Pathways, Excel North, Meadow Well Connected, Tyne Metropolitan College, YMCA and Family Gateway.

GET INVOLVED:

If you’re aged 18 – 29 and living in North Tyneside and want to find out more about the opportunities on offer or you would like to apply, please contact our Community Coordinator Simon at simon@firstnetwork.co or by calling 07923243366.

For further information on the project please visit www.stepsto.co.uk

WHY?

The number of unemployed people in the North East has risen in the last quarter, placing the region’s rate as the highest in the UK. Business cite that they are unable to fill vacancies due to applicants lacking the key skills they need to fulfil their roles, whilst young people are leaving education facing an increasingly competitive job market and report being turned away for jobs due to lack of relevant experience. In order to tackle this, we need to ensure that every young person in the North East is given the opportunity to access meaningful work placements to develop relevant industry experience and develop relationships with their local business community.

In addition to this, FIRST surveyed 218 young people in North Tyneside and when asked what were the biggest barriers they faced to starting up, they stated: lack of business idea [48%, 105 young people], a fear of not succeeding [12%, 27] and worries about start-up costs [20%, 45]. In response to this FIRST are on a mission to enable young people’s enterprise skill development and provide them with a tool-kit of transferable skills in: networking, market research, budgeting, public speaking and pitching and developing a Business Model Canvas

FOR BUSINESSES:

Are you looking for an extra pair of hands to ease your workload? If so, please get in touch via the contact us page to see how you can be supported by a work placement student.