Private Equity Foundation charity secures £3.2 million to roll out services for young unemployed

Employment charity, Tomorrow’s People, has been awarded £3.2 million in Scotland to help it expand its unique Working It Out programme for young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) and fall into the ‘More Choices, More Chances’ group.  The funding, from Inspiring Scotland, followed the Private Equity Foundation’s (PEF) investment of £625,000 in 2008.

Debbie Scott, Chief Executive of Tomorrow’s People, said “We are in no doubt that the preparation we went through to convince PEF to invest in Tomorrow’s People, put us in the best possible position to secure this funding.  PEF follows a vigorous selection and due diligence procedure which includes everything from finance to strategy.  However, it also ensures that its charities are supported through that process, helping them hone their business plans.  Having been made “match fit” by PEF, we knew we could do it again!  This award takes us one step closer to our ambition of embedding Working It Out as one of the primary support initiatives for the NEET group.”

Shaks Ghosh, Chief Executive of PEF, added “PEF’s mission is not only to empower young people to achieve their full potential but to help charities reach their full potential.  We are really delighted that by going though our investment procedure, Tomorrow’s People feels it has improved its ability to compete for grants and reach its long term goal of expanding its programme around the UK.
 
“PEF prides itself on looking at the whole picture before it makes an investment.  For example we take into account the effectiveness of the organisation as well as its potential impact, its leadership and the management’s drive, ambition and capability.  Having seen Tomorrow’s People’s exceptional offering to the young unemployed, we were not at all surprised that they have been successful with Inspiring Scotland.”

Tomorrow’s People’s Working It Out programme engages with the young people other agencies find hardest to reach, working with them over a four month period to overcome personal barriers and build a route to economic independence.  The centrepiece is a community project which helps to change perceptions of the young people and community members about each other. A strong focus is also placed on aftercare, to ensure that when young people move on to employment or training, success continues over the long term.  89 per cent of participants on Working It Out move into work, training or further education and 84 per cent are still in a job, training or further education 12 months later.

The new grant from Inspiring Scotland will enable Tomorrow’s People to replicate its current Glasgow programme in the four new areas of Edinburgh, Inverclyde and North and East Ayrshire over the next seven years.

For further information please contact Rosie Davey at rosie@privateequityfoundation.org or call 020 7749 5129 / 07827 804066