25 Years, Thousands of Lives Changed
The Prince’s Trust, a 5 Million Young Futures partner, is celebrating its 25th anniversary and the thousands of lives improved.
Did you know that around one in five young people in the UK are not in work, education or training? In the UK, The Prince's Trust is celebrating its 25th anniversary of its Team programme that supports 13 to 30 year olds who are unemployed and struggling at school and at risk of exclusion. As part of its 5 Million Young Futures commitment, Barclays is the largest corporate supporter of the programme, helping to give unemployed young people the skills and confidence they need to move forward with their lives.
There are lots of ways that volunteers can support the programme – your talent, experience and enthusiasm can help turn a young person’s life around
Kathleen Britain, Head of UK Community Investment
Together, Barclays and The Prince’s Trust will have helped over 1,200 young people take part in the Team programme across the UK and a further 10,000 undertake local community projects. A testament to the difference the partnership is making it that more than 75% of unemployed young people who complete the programme will go on to jobs, training or education within three months of completion.
Kathleen Britain, Head of UK Community Investment, says, “Barclays support of The Prince’s Trust isn’t only financial– it’s also about Barclays’ colleagues getting involved. There are lots of ways that volunteers can support the programme – your talent, experience and enthusiasm can help turn a young person’s life around.” Since September 2014, 344 colleagues have volunteered 4,200 hours to support these young people.
Looking to the future
Michael Blease, 21 from Liverpool, had a tough start in life. He had spent time living in care, left school with very few qualifications and even spent time in prison; his life was unfulfilled and he struggled to make a change.
I was in a bad way and needed to do something with my life. The Prince’s Trust has helped me to do that
Michael Blease
Michael heard about The Prince’s Trust from his probation officer and leapt at the opportunity to get involved, joining the 12 week personal development team programme. When Michael first came to The Prince’s Trust he was very nervous about meeting new people and really anxious about what he would say.
Michael says:”I was in a bad way and needed to do something with my life. The Prince’s Trust has helped me to do that and I am now looking forward to my future.”
He has plans to return to college to gain the required qualifications in maths and English to help him to develop his career further. His ambition is to achieve something that he can be proud of by being a person that his local community can depend upon.
