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Prince's Trust delivers £40m triumph
THE Prince's Trust has turned grants of £2.5m into a £40m boost for the Yorkshire economy by helping thousands of troubled young people into work and hundreds more set up their own companies. Money given to the charity by regional development agency Yorkshire Forward has resulted in more than 15 times as much cash being ploughed back into the region, according to a new report.
The trust which supports young people who are out of work, in trouble at school, in care or have a criminal record, has used cash from Yorkshire Forward over three years to create or save about 500 jobs, help more than 3,000 young people into work and launch more than 450 new businesses in the region.
More than 2,000 young people have also been given training through Yorkshire Forward's cash support.
The report into the boost the Prince's Trust's provided to the region's economy comes as the charity warns that out-of-work young people in Yorkshire are costing taxpayers more than 2.5m a week.
Latest figures for last month show there are 49,600 18 to 24-year-olds claiming Jobseeker's Allowance. The number of young people who are either unemployed or inactive and not in full-time education is now more than 1.46 million across the country – more than one
in five.
Yorkshire Forward commissioned the report by SQW Consulting to assess the impact of its spending on helping the hardest-to-reach young people.
Prince's Trust's Yorkshire director Peter Branson said: "Youth unemployment in Yorkshire now costs the state 2,527,120 per week in benefits. But this is just the start of a long and downward spiral, which all too often leads to crime, homelessness or worse.
"Only by stopping young people falling out of the system can we rescue this lost potential and save the economy billions each year."
Yorkshire Forward has invested in seven programmes run by the Prince's Trust.
The 2.5m support provided between 2006 and this year includes cash for a project which helps young people set up their own businesses, grants to youths to carry out community work and a club to help underachieving pupils in school. A return of more than 39m to the Yorkshire economy is estimated from the initial investment.
Thea Stein, executive director of economic inclusion for Yorkshire Forward, said: "As the region's development agency we recognise that the long-term success of our region relies on the opportunity for everyone to have to share in that success.
"For this to include the next generation of our workforce in Yorkshire and Humber we need to ensure that our region's young people are given the opportunities they deserve and the skills to take advantage of those opportunities.
"The work of The Prince's Trust does just that, as it develops links between young people, their community and the region's businesses – for the future prosperity of all."
The support it has received from the regional development agency has now come to an end and the charity is hoping to secure support from councils across Yorkshire to continue its work.
However, the SQW report also warned that a lack of knowledge about the Prince's Trust's work among local councils could result in parts of the region missing out on funding in future.
The Prince's Trust is now holding talks with authorities across the region in an attempt to secure funding to allow its work to continue.
Vital helping hand for mother's new beauty business
BEFORE Rebecca Taylor had heard of the Prince's Trust she was out of work, raising a child on her own and fearing that with no qualifications she would struggle to ever find a job.
Now, two years on she is a successful company chief with her own expanding beautician's business serving customers across the region.
She can now look to the future feeling more confident about the life she can provide for her son Harry.
Rebecca left school without any qualifications and was made redundant from a former job after becoming pregnant in 2007.
After having her baby, her career fortunes were to change a year later when she was put in touch with the charity who helped the young mother turn her dreams of starting her own business into a reality.
After impressing a panel of volunteer business brains, the charity awarded the 23-year-old, from Doncaster, a 3,000 loan, a 500 grant and a business mentor to advise her on the launch of her firm Locks and Lashes, which provides hair and semi permanent eyelash extensions.
The Prince Trust's business programme helps young people to set up their own firms with advice and financial support for up to three years.
More than half of these start-ups, 58 per cent, are still in business after three years – which is higher than the national average.
What makes this statistic more impressive is that each of these businesses is being run by young people from the four target areas which the Prince's Trust works with: long-term unemployed, those with a criminal record, people who have been in care or those facing trouble at school.
With her funding Rebecca purchased equipment, stock and a business car and set about running her own business for the first time while coping with the sleepless nights of bringing up a child on her own.
She said: "I had studied beauty therapy at Doncaster College but have never used the skills I had learned. When I did some market research I found there was a gap in the market and there was nobody in the area providing what I do.
"The Prince's Trust were fantastic. They provided me with a loan, a grant which I did not expect and one-to-one support throughout.
"They have made a massive difference and my business has gone from strength-to strength."
Rebecca launched Locks and Lashes, in December, last year, driving to customers to provide them with hair or eyelash extensions but quickly found
that the demand for her service meant she needed a permanent base.
"I found that although I was really busy a lot of my time was stuck on a motorway so I moved to Fountain Health's Spa and I am in the process of getting my own premises – a nail and lashes bar on the edge of Doncaster town centre."
As her business expands, she is also preparing to launch her own branded products which will be sold from her new premises.
She added: "Things have taken off in a big way. I have secured premises and have also represented Doncaster as a young entrepreneur.
"I didn't realise just how much the trust could help me. Juggling the business and bringing up my son on my own has been tough but it is nice to be constantly working. Knowing that I have come all this way on my own is a fantastic feeling."
"The Prince's Trust has been amazing and they deserve a medal. They have looked at my individual situation and supported me all the way – I owe so much to the trust. It has made such a difference to the life I can provide for Harry."
Trust's vital supporting role
The charity was set up in 1976 by The Prince of Wales to provide support to people between 14 and 30 years-old.
It works with young people who have struggled at school, have been in care, are long-term unemployed or have been in trouble with the law.
Last year it supported more than 3,000 14-30 year-olds in Yorkshire.
Across the country the charity reached 40,000 young people. More than 10,000 of these were supported by xl clubs which are run in schools for pupils who are underachieving or in danger of dropping out of education.
More than 9,000 people were helped by its Business Programme which gives people grants and mentoring to launch their own business ventures
Eight out of 10 young people supported by the Prince's Trust have moved into education, employment or further training.
The charity needs to raise about 1m a week to continue its work nationally.
Determination that built a booming firm
WHEN Elliot Sparks was nine years old, he was seriously injured in a traffic accident which interrupted his education – and from the age of 13 he has been self taught.
The experience has given him a determination to be able to stand on his own two feet.
After finding it "almost impossible" to find a job in Bridlington, he teamed up with the Prince's Trust and with their support has been able to set up his own successful business delivering power tools.
He said: "The most important thing the Prince's Trust provides is someone for you to talk to.
"When you have never set up a business before and don't know anyone who has it can be daunting because all of a sudden you become your own company.
"It is great to have a business mentor who has been able to talk me through the finance and the legal side of owning your own business
"I initially started by designing my own websites as a hobby, and for around a year I then worked for a company which sells hardware. When my time there came to an end, it made sense to combine these experiences and build my own website selling products I had become familiar with.
"The Prince's Trust provided me with a 500 grant and a small loan to help purchase computer equipment for my start-up.
"The financial support was helpful but the main thing was the advice and support I have received from my mentor, Michael Holgate."
The company launched, in March 2007, and from its first sale two years ago it has gone from strength to strength now boasting a turnover of nearly 500,000.
The 25-year-old says the charity played a key role in turning his vision into a reality.
He said: "The assistance getting started made the
whole business much more viable, and the support helped me through some very difficult early days.
"So in a way it has helped to transform the whole last two years of my life – effectively going from being unemployed in a town with very few prospects, to having a business which has proved strong enough to last through a recession where so many jobs have not survived."
In two years, he has seen the firm grow to achieving a turnover of 460,000.
Hardship and hope as Lizzy finds dream job
AT the age of 21, Lizzy Braithwaite has had to overcome more hardship than many people face in a lifetime.
When she was 12, her father died after a long illness and she grew up balancing her education with the demands of caring for both her younger sister and mother who was battling against mental illness.
She left her family home at 16 and, after staying with a family friend, moved into lodgings with the help of a charity which supports the homeless.
Throughout her childhood, Lizzy's schoolwork and social life suffered as she took responsibility for running her family's home and as an older teenager she had to fend for herself. Lizzy, who lives in Knaresborough, left school with a few GCSEs but was determined to carry on her education.
She now has her own place and works as a student enabler supporting disabled students at Henshaws College in Harrogate. But she says that without the support of the Prince's Trust she would not have had the confidence to get a job.
After leaving school, she went to college with cash support through a development award from the trust and successfully completed a GNVQ course.
She then took up a three month voluntary placement in Turkey, helping a young woman with Down's Syndrome but after returning home, a lack of money or direction meant she was unsure of what to do next.
While she was unemployed she secured a Community Cash Award from The Prince's Trust to manage her own project.
Having experienced the difficulties homeless people face, Lizzy planned to provide new tenants living in temporary supported housing with a "welcome home pack" to help them settle into their new surroundings.
With the grant, she was able to provide more than 60 welcome packs containing items such as toothbrushes, towels, cleaning products, a 5 ASDA voucher and some food.
After finishing the Welcome Home project, she secured her dream job as a student enabler at Henshaws College.
She said: "I love my life now, I am really happy and I'm not
on benefits anymore. I'm proud to have a good job which helps others."
Young people get on course to find jobs despite the recession
THE PRINCE'S Trust is looking for new ways of helping young people as the recession takes its toll on the region's job market.
One of the successful projects funded by regional development agency Yorkshire Forward has been its Get Into courses which provide short vocational training to help unemployed young people in the region into specific industries.
Over the past three years, it has been able to secure work for young people in construction jobs. However, with the economic downturn affecting the building trade, it is now looking to develop courses in other industries such as the care sector.
Sam Kennedy, the charity's head of public sector work in Yorkshire, said: "Young people come to the trust who are ready to work but they do not have the skills that will get them a job or in some cases even secure them an interview. In the last couple of years, we have had a strong presence in construction and retail with a lot of young people finding work in these sectors. Now we are working on a Get Into Social Care course because this is an area where there are still guaranteed job opportunities."
The course will allow young people to gain skills to help them to carry out jobs in residential care homes or in a hospital environment. The charity is looking to launch a pilot training course with BUPA in Leeds to allow young people to find work in this sector. It has also held talks with Age Concern about its training plans.
The Get Into courses are one of 10 Prince's Trust projects which have been funded in Yorkshire by the regional development agency.
Other areas of support include the business programme which provides start-up loans and grants to people between the age of 18 to 30 who have an idea for launching their own company.
The charity not only provides business advice but also gives the young entrepreneurs their own mentor to guide them through their first three years in business. The Prince's Trust also has a legal helpline and can provide business skills training.
Another scheme which has been run in the region with Yorkshire Forward support is the Trust's xl clubs which are aimed at pupils between 14 and 16 who are playing truant, at risk of exclusion or underachieving in their lessons.
Xl clubs run as a two-year programme with about 12 to 15 members from one school involved. The aim of the project is to boost pupils' confidence and get them to increase the number of qualifications they attempt. The charity also awards Community Cash awards to young people who want to make a difference in their area and Development awards to help pay for any barriers young people face accessing education or training.
It has also launched a Young Ambassador's scheme to allow people who have received help from the charity to promote the work it does.
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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