Summer Jobs Programme

Our new Summer Jobs Programme offers paid summer work placements for young people aged 16-25 who are at risk of violence.

The programme will provide young people with direct employment opportunities in with employers in their local area. Young people will gain key skills needed to support future employment opportunities along with being paid for the placement. The six-week programme includes a preparation week and five weeks of work experience, all with the dedicated support of a youth worker.

Where does the programme run?

North West

Greater Manchester

West Midlands

Coventry, Birmingham, Solihull, Sandwell, Wolverhampton

London

Barking and Dagenham, Crawley, Croydon, Greenwich, Hackney, Haringey, Islington, Newham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest

We aim to support 600 young people by providing work experience directly with employers in their local area. We are currently working with 14 delivery partners who will support us throughout the first year of the programme. We are delighted to be working with delivery partners from across these area. We are delighted to be working with-

Nurturing Foundation	GMYN	Power2
The Skill Mill	Catch 22	Birmingham Youth Service
Sporting Your Futures	Sport 4 Life	Orange Bow CIC
Youth League	Covent Garden Dragon Hall Trust / Soapbox	Project Zero
Think Forward	Northside Youth and Community Connections

As part of our Building Experiences model, we aim to provide targeted support and learning experiences to improve young people’s confidence, essential skills and goal setting. The Summer Jobs Programme will not only provide young people with opportunities to engage directly with local employers combined with the support of a youth worker, we are also reviewing the young person’s wellbeing and mental health while supporting them with employability and self-confidence.

Know someone who may be eligible for our programme?
To refer a young person, or yourself, you can complete this form

We have created a helpful guide for young people, providing more information on the programme and what they can expect throughout the process. Young people must fall into this eligibility criteria below. More information on eligibility, available here:

Essential

Minimum age 16 (at end of programme)
Maximum age 25 (at end of programme)
Has the right to work in the UK
Able to take part in 25 hours of employment each week (with reasonable adjustments)
Not currently employed for more than 15 hours per week
Available to participate in at least 5 of the 6 weeks of the programme
Must be able to attend the preparation week
Living in one of the areas that programme is delivered in and not planning to move out of the area during the duration of the programme
Not living in the secure estate (at start of the programme)
Proficiency in spoken English
Not currently charged with a serious offence.

AND one or more of the following

One or more of the following criteria:

Are or have been in contact with Youth Offending Teams;
Have left the secure estate;
Attend or have attended an alternative provision institution;
Have had at least one fixed term exclusion;
Are or have been persistently absent from school;
Are or have been in care;
Have been the victim of violence;
Are engaged with the Supporting Families programme;
Have, or have had, a social worker;
Have been identified at risk of criminal exploitation;
Have a sibling or parent who have been involved in serious violence.
Have been arrested and released with no further action

How can employers get involved?

We are currently recruiting for employers to offer work placements in these areas.

We are seeking employers to the programme who are prepared to welcome, work with, mentor and supervise a young worker(s) at risk of violence, in a safe and supported way, throughout the duration of their placement. Employers will work in collaboration with the young person’s dedicated youth worker for the purpose of ongoing support and successful placement for the employee and employer alike.

Recognising that there may be barriers to young people being able to take up this opportunity, the programme will provide an access fund and pre-placement preparation. Young people will be paid weekly in line with national living wage.

To register your interest and find out more, please email us at summerjobs@ukyouth.org

The Summer Jobs Programme is based on successful programmes in the USA.

The Summer Jobs Programme is part of a large research project to learn better ways to support young people at risk of violence. The project is funded by the Youth Endowment Fund, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Youth Futures Fund. We are also working closely with the Ending Youth Violence Lab to evaluate the programme. If the first year is successful, we would look to expand the scale of the programme in years 2 and 3.

The Three-year Plan

The delivery of each year will depend on the success of the previous.

Year 1 (2024): Feasibility study to ensure the programme works logistically, is acceptable to youth workers, employers and young people and the correct young people are taking part.
Year 2 (2025): Internal pilot to expand the scheme and include a control group. This will test the deliverability and the evaluability of the programme.
Year 3 (2026): Full-scale research study (a randomised control trial) to test the impact on outcomes (levels of offending, arrest records, school attendance, emotional regulation etc). This will inform recommendations on whether the programme should continue and how it might be funded going forwards.

You can read our Summer Jobs Programme privacy notice here. We also have a General Information sheet for young people available.

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