We spoke to our delivery partner Ibrahim Ismail, Development Manager and Talent Coach at Bolton Solidarity Community Association (BSCA), to find out more about their approach when working with young people, and how they provide support to manage the often difficult transition into adulthood.
We spoke about why some young people have such a range of issues to deal with such as housing and finances, drug or alcohol abuse and mental health issues. Ibrahim suggested that young people are facing a range of systemic issues, including a lack of support during and after leaving school or college.
“Every young person we’ve worked with so far, their concern isn’t just employment, but a whole host of things…There’s not enough put in place for young people for when they’re transitioning into becoming a young adult.”
Young people lacking support networks can fall through the cracks, especially those who have English as a second language - something Ibrahim comes across regularly at BSCA.
“…the young people that we work with that have English as a second language have that added barriers as well. They don’t feel confident enough in terms of writing a CV or going through an interview, and they always feel that, you know, because of their lack of English, that will act as a barrier for them to get into employment or education or training.”
He also pointed out that complicated processes, such as applying for Universal Credit or Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs), can alienate young people. Long response times and complicated processes means young people could be left unsupported for long periods. This adds an additional barrier to employment for those young people who may be looking for work but they aren’t able to easily prove their settled status or ability to work in the UK.
“…if you get settled status in the UK as a refugee, you get a BRP card and that BRP card is for 5 years. So we get quite a number of people that are coming up to their 5 years and need to renew it but they don’t know how to renew it. And once, even when you do renew it, there can be a long wait to get the BRP card back. And in that meantime they’ve got no ID.”
BSCA support young people through these processes since often a small mistake can lead to long delays with application forms.
Ibrahim also highlighted the importance of building a relationship with young people to be able to support them effectively.
“Going on a walk or going to a cafe with them and having a coffee, just having a chat and building up that relationship. After a while, when they know us and trust us, will we tell them more about (how we can support them). Building that trust is key.”
He noted why it is important to provide holistic support and ensure young people are able to manage their mental health and other aspects of their life before moving into employment or education;
“…without helping them and putting those building blocks in place, it’s just makes it so much more difficult for them to get into employment. Even if they did become that 1 in 10 that do get into employment, it’s harder to maintain if they’ve not got those things in place as well.”
BSCA also provide in-work support to the young people that work with. This includes being on call to both the young person and their employer in case there are any issues or additional support needs that need to be met.
Ibrahim noted that the lack of access to opportunities for the most disadvantaged young people is a key issue, and this has massive implications on self-confidence.
“If you’re not that person that’s getting 5+ in your GCSEs, the world just ends for you as a 16 year old. I think it’s about not just us, but employers, all the institutions, changing their language and giving everybody hope and positive message that, no matter what pathway you take, it’s a pathway that will get you to where you want to go.”
We believe that effective and accessible support for young people is so important to help them realise their full potential, which is why we believe that our model of holistic and personalised support is so effective amongst the young people we work with. Greater Manchester’s Hidden Talent aims to provide wider support related to housing and finances, for example, and aims to build confidence and plan what the young person wants to do so they can start to achieve their goals, before we begin to support them to move into employment, education or training.
Greater Manchester's Hidden Talent is funded by the UK Government through the UK Community Renewal Fund, and led by GMCVO.
The UK Community Renewal Fund is a UK Government programme for 2021/22. This aims to support people and communities most in need across the UK to pilot programmes and new approaches to prepare for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. It invests in skills, community and place, local business, and supporting people into employment. For more information, visit here.
