The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Pilot, Mentoring Young Job Seekers will be part of a showcase session at this year's annual Conference and Exhibition, 8-10 November in Manchester. For further details visit CIPD ACE 2011
Everyone knows how troubled the jobs market is at the moment - the latest unemployment figures make for grim reading and it doesn't look as though the coming months will see much improvement. The young people of this country are one of the hardest-hit groups: their lack of skills and experience, their sometimes unfavourable reputation with employers, and the general lack of jobs out there are a worrying combination.
So how can the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and the HR community help?
Working with the Department for Work and Pensions and Jobcentre Plus, CIPD has recently launched a new pilot initiative in Coventry and Warwickshire, an area where youth unemployment is particularly high. In order to help provide pathways into the labour market, the main objective of the pilot is to link up CIPD members with young unemployed people (aged between 18 and 24) for one-to-one mentoring and support, aiming to build up their confidence and employability skills.
What will the mentoring focus on?
The mentoring relationships will usually last for a period of six weeks, an initial meeting offering the chance for the mentor and the young person to build up a good rapport and set out some goals to work towards - essentially any areas that the young person feels unsure about. For example, it may be that they lack experience and feel overwhelmed by the process of job hunting, or it may be that they need some practical insight into how to complete a job application or how to present themselves at a job interview. As one of our new mentors, Dan Denninberg, HR Manager at bynx puts it: "HR professionals, in particular, can add great value to job seekers. It's not about gaining ‘insider knowledge' or learning the tricks of the recruitment trade as such, it's about re-establishing the confidence and focus needed when searching for a new role."
How is it working?
Early feedback from both the mentors and the young people is very positive and we have already seen some of our mentees secure jobs or work placements. We realise that there isn't a magic wand that will make the difficulties that young people face go away but, at the same time, our members have a wealth of experience to share and therefore feel ideally placed to help. As Derek Eccleston, Director of Employment Law Training limited and the first mentor to complete the six-week programme explains, "It has been great to see a young person grow in confidence over the weeks, he let me know that a recent interview performance was the best he had ever given. He has another interview coming up, and says he feels more confident than ever before. Although the six weeks soon passes, I will continue to support my mentee via e-mail and telephone for the foreseeable future. I want to see him succeed in getting a job offer, he deserves it!" Just before submitting this article, Derek informed me that his mentee has now been offered an apprenticeship.
So far we've had a fantastic response in Coventry, with over 70 CIPD members willing to make time to support the initiative. In fact, some members have not only offered their time but also use of office space and potential local work placements. What's been really encouraging is how much the local HR community is willing to support its young people and help to give them a fighting chance.
The pilot will run until June 2012 after which point the CIPD will consider the launch of a national volunteering model. To find out more about what we are doing and why, visit our web page at www.cipd.co.uk/coventrypilot [1]
Annie Matthews, Project Manager, CIPD