JD Sports steps up fight against youth unemployment with new career support package
JD Sports has announced a new package of career support to help young people develop work skills, build confidence and take their first steps into employment. It includes online work experience, employability workshops and job interviews for potential vacancies at JD.
The move forms part of JD’s £1 million partnership with BBC Children in Need, which aims to tackle youth unemployment by strengthening youth services across the UK. The partnership will support up to 10,000 young people through funding for 50 youth projects and around 90 youth workers across the UK.
Subscribe to TRBIn the latest phase of the partnership, JD will provide practical training and employment opportunities to young people. This will include a virtual work experience programme that will introduce young people to careers and help them to develop skills in retail, merchandising, buying, supply chain, marketing and digital.
JD will also run practical CV and interview workshops, designed to help young people develop their employability skills, build confidence and prepare for recruitment processes.
Young people who complete any of the programmes will also receive recruitment support to explore career opportunities at JD, including job interviews where suitable vacancies are available.
Paul Orange, people, managing director of JD EMEA, said: “Too many young people face barriers when taking their first steps into work, whether that’s a lack of experience, confidence or access to opportunities. As a major employer of young people, we believe we have an important role to play in helping to change that.
“Our partnership with BBC Children in Need is part of a much broader commitment to tackling youth unemployment. By combining support for youth services with practical experience, skills development and greater exposure to the world of work, we want to help more young people see a pathway into work and take that next step towards a career.”
The announcement forms part of a new campaign from JD and BBC Children in Need, which highlights how youth clubs and youth workers help young people build confidence, feel part of a community and find routes into work, partly by speaking their language.
New research from the two organisations found that 80% of young people believe their peers would have nowhere else to go if their local youth club closed. Nearly three quarters (72%) said youth workers can talk to them about their problems in ways other adults can’t.
Beyond funding youth services, JD and BBC Children in Need have launched The Youth Club Dictionary, with contributions from Oxford University Press. It features alternative definitions of words and phrases used in youth clubs, and shows how every club that closes risks cutting off a vital source of communication and support for young people.
The campaign is backed by MOBO-winning rapper and former youth club member DC3, who has released a new music video, “My Home”. Directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Andrea Arnold, it was filmed in a youth club and inspired by the language in the dictionary.
Claire Hoyle, chief executive of BBC Children in Need, said: “We are incredibly proud to be partnering with JD Sports to support youth projects and youth workers in communities across the UK. Giving young people somewhere to go, something to do and someone to talk to sits at the heart of everything we do, and this partnership will help make that a reality for thousands more young people.
“Young people are facing increasing challenges and we know how vital it is that they have access to trusted adults, safe spaces and opportunities for the future. By investing in both youth work and pathways into employment, we can help young people build brighter futures.”
