Building Society backing for Youth Employability Programme opens doors for County Durham youngsters

Launched in 2018, Building Self-BeliefCIO work with thousands of vulnerable young people in the North East. It aims to build stronger communities by improving the mental health, self-esteem and life chances of young people in the region through the delivery of a number of programmes, projects, and broader community engagement.

As part of the charity’s youth employability programme ‘Bridging the Gap’, sixth form students from Consett Academy, County Durham have been given the opportunity to develop vital workplace skills and improve their employment prospects with the help of grant funding and support from colleagues at Newcastle Building Society.

To help fund the charity’s youth employability programme, a £5,000 grant from the Newcastle Building Society Community Fund at the Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland is supporting with the cost of delivery as well as the creation of a documentary-style film that looks at the impacts of the programme on its young people.

Peter Thomas, founder of Building Self-Belief, said: “Our Bridging the Gap youth employability programme works with young people from areas in the bottom 20% of Multiple National Deprivation to help them realise their potential and achieve positive outcomes when it comes to employability.

“Having the backing of Newcastle Building Society has opened doors for our young people to be able to spend time in the workplace environment and gain a better understanding of what’s expected of them as young professionals. We’ve witnessed our young people develop greater enthusiasm for work as well as greater confidence in their abilities, and we couldn’t have achieved this without the support of Newcastle Building Society and its colleagues.”

The ongoing relationship with Building Self-Belief CIO has also seen the charity’s young people welcomed into the Society’s Head Office at Cobalt Business Park, North Tyneside to take part in a series of workshops. School pupils were given a tour of the office space before taking part in mock interviews and delivering presentations to build their skills, confidence and work experience.

Colleagues from Newcastle Building Society have also helped deliver online safety sessions for the charity’s young people as part of the youth employability programme to help raise awareness of the dangers faced on the internet and provide support and guidance on how to stay safe when using social media and the web.

Noah Duggan, 17, sixth form student from Consett Academy said: “I enjoyed the programme as it made me realise how important a good CV is, and how to achieve a good interview. It’s not just about turning up, there’s also lots of prep you need to do to have a good chance of standing out from all the other people interviewing.”

Linda Creegan, manager at Newcastle Building Society’s Consett branch, said: “We’re keen to align with the findings of the Community Foundation’s Vital Signs reports, which provide a pulse check on the region’s priorities. As part of this we see the value in funding partnerships that support ‘invisible children’, e.g. young people at risk of disengagement from education to help close the attainment gap.

“It’s fantastic to see our relationship with Building Self-Belief CIO go from strength-to-strength and to be able to provide them with opportunities they may not otherwise have had. Employability and skills are a key strategic community focus for our Society, and gaining real-world experience in the workplace creates unique opportunities that will provide the foundations for successful careers as adults.”

The Newcastle Building Society Community Fund at the Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland offers grants to charities and community groups located in or around the communities served by the Society's branch network.

Since its launch in 2016, Newcastle Building Society’s Community Fund at the Community Foundation has also contributed over £1.7m in grants and partnerships to a wide variety of charities and projects across the region, including the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and the Prince’s Trust.

The grants are so far estimated to have had a positive impact on more than 151,000 people.