The Charity has been awarded Silver under the Ministry of Defence Employer Recognition Scheme for their support to cadet forces and the wider Armed Forces.
The Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) Silver Award is the second highest badge of honour presented to organisations that demonstrate their support to the Armed Forces and inspire others to do the same. As a silver award winner, The Charity has gone above and beyond to support the armed forces community and upholds a positive stance for employees who are veterans, Reservists and Cadet Force Adult volunteers, as well as spouses and partners of those serving in the Armed Forces. Kurtis-Jay Castle - Founder, Chairman and CEO “As a charity, we value the skills that veterans and reservists bring to the table, and more importantly for us it's about enabling them to pass the skills and experiences they’ve got onto the young people. “We believe every young person deserves the opportunity to learn, and develop in life, regardless of their backgrounds and having strong models such as veterans to look up to can have massive effect on the lives of young people.” Under the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme, employers support Defence personnel and encourage others to do the same. The Scheme has three levels, Bronze, Silver, and Gold. To achieve Silver, organisations must proactively demonstrate that the Armed Forces community are not unfairly disadvantaged as part of their recruitment policies. They must also actively ensure their workforce is aware of their positive policies towards Defence people issues. Kirstie Lawrence, the Ministry of Defence’s Deputy Regional Employer Engagement Director for the East Midlands, said: “We are delighted that so many local businesses have been recognised with this Silver Award. Despite the pressures of the last few years, these companies have taken the time to ensure our Armed Forces community is supported. It is gratifying to see that, whatever the size of the business, there is a place for the Armed Forces Covenant, and they recognise the benefits of working with Defence. They should be proud of this significant achievement.” Nottinghamshire based charity, The Youth Enterprise & Employability Academy is starting an annual campaign called coats for children with the slogan “Warm Heart for Warm Child” as hundreds of vulnerable children across the UK left out in the cold this winter.
This campaign is first and foremost about providing vulnerable children a warm coat over the winter period, schools across Nottinghamshire can simply submit a request in writing/email to the charity with the age(s) of child(ren), name of Teacher/Youth Leader and school/Youth Organisations submitting required. but it’s about highlighting the issues. Charity Founder, Kurtis-Jay Castle and Governor of multiple schools across Nottinghamshire said, His heart felt "broken" when he had to spend a good ten or more minutes with two year five children whilst they warmed up after arriving at school without, or heavily damaged coats. “After talking to teachers across Nottinghamshire alone, it became more apparent that more and more vulnerable children arriving at schools without, or coats that simply aren’t fit for purpose and junior schools seem to be the worst off at the moment. He than adds, “Unfortunately, it came as a bit of a surprise as we didn’t expect it to be as big of an issue, out of the first five schools alone that we contacted, every one of them had required at least three or more coats and some are still waiting on teachers to get back to them.” The charity has started Coats for Children campaign with around 40 Coats that range up to the age of ten year-old which they received with a heavily discounted price from Primark. First few hours of sharing this with a few schools more than half have been delivered to schools across Nottinghamshire. In order for the charity to maintain this unexpected demand, they need your help. So, they have created a amazon wish-list link to which can be found below: https://amzn.to/3EphCNG Or, you make a donation, by check write out to Youth Enterprise & Employability Academy. Unfortunately, they cannot accept second-hand coats as they’ve no means of washing them, and added concerns around Covid it simply to risky at this stage. However we fully intend to in the future. With this Public Health Crisis, that we are all facing together, thousands of young people across Nottinghamshire are feeling the pain that has come with it; as hundreds of them are being let go right at the start of their careers because businesses are having to make hard choices to reduce costs, and hundreds more young people are simply unable to even start their own career path whatever that maybe.
Youth Enterprise & Employability Academy has already seen the damage this pandemic has done to young peoples’ hopes and dreams, it is only going to get worse as more young people are preparing to leave school in few months having missed exams and facing the prospect of a reduction in job prospects. It goes without any doubt that youth unemployment is continuing to skyrocket during this pandemic. But, on the brighter side of life, we have spoken to young people from across Nottinghamshire who are finding their very own feet, so to speak. As they take on new opportunities to succeed and thrive by beginning an entrepreneurial journey instead. This pandemic is leading more youngsters down the entrepreneurial route than ever before, while this is remarkable, our young people cannot do it totally alone. We need to create a supportive environment to promote their strengths, abilities, and aid them with achieving their entrepreneurial ambition, we also support those that are about to start their journey into the world of work by ensuring that when they do leave education they are prepared for the challenges that come their way. Whilst there is light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to this pandemic, the damage will remain for many years and now more than ever our Small Nottinghamshire based charity is feeling their pain too. So, enable us to continue providing support and opportunities for young people. A Small Local Charity, Youth Enterprise & Employability Academy, is today celebrating after being awarded almost £10,000 in National Lottery Funding, this comes after Academy surveyed firms across Nottinghamshire and found 84% thought school leavers were not ready for employment. In fact of the companies surveyed three-quarters put the situation down to a lack of work experience, but then when we asked them do they offer work experience over half of them said they do not offer it, because of the cost and time needed and lack of information about what is involved which is putting them offering work-experience. In addition, to work experience nine out of ten companies surveyed said young people did not have even basic skills such as communication or team work, whilst 73% of young people believe they are good at communicating and 55% believe they are good at working in a team. That is why the Youth Enterprise & Employability Academy is developing its employability programs that proactively engage with young people in order to help them to identify the skills needed for the world of work The charity, based in Worksop in North Nottinghamshire, will use the cash to run activities for young people and aid with its development. Youth Enterprise & Employability Academy has been running since 2015, becoming a charity in 2019 and is staffed by volunteers. It was founded by Kurtis-Jay Castle, Charlotte Baines and Jodie Streets after research carried out by the now charity, there was clear indications that young people from across Nottinghamshire would benefit from the Employability program. The Charity will use these funds for its employability program which helps youth from across county to make friends, but more importantly learning new skills and having fun. While enjoyable, they are also gaining greater confidence, problem solving and important collaboration skills. The new funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, which distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes and is the largest community funder in the UK, will see the extending and developing the Employ-ability Program. At the same time, the charity will continue to pays attention to issues and concerns young people have and employers, in order to provide the best possible support for them. Kurtis-Jay Castle, Founder & Chair of Youth Enterprise & Employability Academy says: “We’re ecstatic that The National Lottery Community Fund has recognised the academy in this way. So, would like to take this opportunity thank everyone who plays the lottery, we will be able to press on with the development of our employ-ability program and broaden the range of opportunities available to young people. Kurtis-Jay than adds, “it’s only thanks to the hard work and commitment made by Jodie Streets and the rest of the team that we are here today, however sadly Miss Street is no longer with us, therefore our deepest condolences once again go out to her family.” Jade Allan, Trustee of Youth Enterprise & Employability Academy says: “It is incredible that we’ve recognized this way, however we have to continue to raise funds and building partnerships with organisations across the county to make a difference" Notes to EditorFirms surveyed84% firms believes school leavers are unprepared for the world of work. 100% firms believes young people need better customer services skills. 100% firms believes young people need better telephone handle skills 95% firms believes young people need better team working skills 89% firms believes young people lack the necessary work experience 53% firms do not offer work experience 63% firms say the cost and time needed put them off employing young people 68% firms said the lack of information about what is involved, put them off offering work-experience Young People surveyed73% young people feel confident about finding a job near your home town 64% young people say it is difficult to get the experience you need to get the job you want 73% believe they are good at communicating 55% young people say they are poor at talking in front of a group 82% young people believe academic qualifications is enough to secure the job they want 91% young people believe they was taught the relevant and necessary employment skills required in the workplace 55% young people believe they do not you get enough guidance and consultation to help with choosing your career path |
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