Corby Borough Council is the first Borough Council in England to apply for the badge, they have been awarded the highest standard – Gold. This means that the Council has demonstrated its own commitment to young people but that it also is going to promote the good practice to suppliers and its network of employers.
The Leader of Corby Borough Council, Cllr Tom Beattie, said:
‘It has been tough for many people across the country to find work and this is especially true for our young people. As a local authority we want to be able to help in any way we can to improve our young residents’ chances of employment and this is why we put time and resources into working with local schools and taking on apprentices.
‘We are extremely proud to be the first borough council in England to be awarded with the Youth Friendly badge, especially to the highest standard. We hope that this encourages more businesses and organisations to look at what they could do to help our young people get into work and also become a Youth Friendly Badge holder themselves.’
Andy Sawford MP is also a Youth Friendly badge holder and has been a supporter of Youth Employment UK CIC. Andy is passionate about working with Youth Employment UK CIC and the Council to create a Youth Friendly Corby, an event in the Cube is in planning stages where all Corby employers can come along and find out how they can support the youth of Corby and build the skills and inspiration of the next generation workforce.
Andy Sawford MP said
“Youth unemployment is a major issue here in Corby and East Northamptonshire and across the UK. This is why the Youth Friendly badge is so important and I am proud that it is a Corby organisation that is leading this campaign. The badge will encourage businesses to do more to engage with, train and employ the next generation of workers.
“As a Youth Friendly badge holder I have lots of young people spend time in my constituency office on work experience. They bring great energy, enthusiasm and fresh viewpoints for how to improve our communities. I would encourage all local employers to consider signing up to the Youth Friendly badge, and invite young people to get in touch with me if they would like to do some work experience in my office”.
The Youth Friendly badge aims to reward those organisations helping young people in their communities and encouraging those that don’t, to get involved in some way. We know that for some companies it is not possible to commit lots of staff, resources or even recruit young people, that’s at YEUK we recognise the small stuff like a careers talk in a school and helping with mock interviews. Having some advice on an interview technique or hearing from an employer can make a huge difference to a young person’s chances of employment success and we definitely need to create more of those opportunities
ENDS
