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At present, there are over 6,000 young people aged 16 to 24 years old living in Enfield that are unemployed and on universal credit. There is a danger that they could become long term unemployed due to the lack of high-quality Tech traineeships or apprenticeship opportunities in the Borough. To work towards remedying this, 21K Digital Media is organising a webinar on 28th October 2021 from 10:15am to 12Pm to discuss what they are doing to level up apprenticeships in Boroughs like Enfield that lack high quality Tech traineeship and apprenticeship opportunities.
There is a low take-up of apprenticeships by local businesses in Enfield. This conference will also explore the barriers that prevent employers from recruiting apprentices locally and how we could assist them to recruit talented young people from Enfield’s diverse communities.
The House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts report published on September 8, 2021, stated, “We are concerned that the Department for Work and Pensions does not know why the unemployment impact of the pandemic has hit groups such as young people from minority ethnic backgrounds harder. In March 2021, the Office for National Statistics produced striking statistics showing unemployment for young black people aged 16–24 had increased from 24.5% in the period October-December 2019 to 41.6% over the same period in 2020, while unemployment for young white people increased from 10.1% to 12.4%.” The Breaking the Cycle of High Youth Unemployment in Enfield plans to explore how we can work with award winner Just IT Training & Apprenticeship provider who has a 20-year track record to enable talented, disadvantaged young people living in Enfield who are experiencing barriers that prevent them from gaining sustainable employment and high value apprenticeships to access high quality training to compete for an apprenticeship in the Digital and tech industry or to start their own business. Edmonton is the second most deprived of Enfield’s 21 wards and within the ten percent most deprived wards in both London and England. Nearly a quarter of households in the area have an income of less than £15,000, compared to a borough average of 16.7 percent. Notably, 30.5% of Edmonton residents have no qualifications, condemning them to low paid employment.
21K Digital Media’s mission is to help 100 unemployed disadvantaged young people to apply for an apprenticeship successfully by 2022 . We know this is a very ambitious target but, without setting a goal, there is no measure in place to work towards reducing high youth unemployment in Enfield, especially among young Black people who are disproportionately experiencing higher unemployment than their white counterparts. To achieve this, we are working in collaboration with Enfield Council, employers and Just IT to break the cycle of high youth unemployment in Enfield. This will be achieved by ensuring that the training that is delivered to young people equip them with the skills that are industry based and that employers require. It is vital that the 30.5% of Edmonton residents who do not have formal qualifications gain digital skills that are prerequisites in today’s workplace.
21K Digital Media is aiming to become a focal point in the Edmonton Green Shopping Centre to change the lives of unemployed young people who are at risk of living a life of hopelessness and despair. This webinar is a steppingstone in achieving our organisational goals. Come and be part of our webinar, where valuable information will be shared to help us lower the unemployment rate among our young people.
For further information please contact Colin:@21kdigitalmedia.com