YouthStart Mentor

Main Purpose

Provide a person-centred employability programme including mentoring and groupwork targeting those furthest from the labour market and aimed at removing barriers to employment and supporting young people into employment. The employability work coach will be responsible for engaging young people 16-24 years not in education, training or employment, undertake one-to-one mentoring and group support to remove barriers, facilitating their progress into employment, training or education.

Principal Duties

1. Engage young people 16-24 years who are not in education, training or employment onto the Youthstart programme - using in-house referrals, grass roots marketing and through local infrastructure.  This shall include working closely and developing excellent working relationships with community, statutory and voluntary organisations within the area. This will be measured through set targets (including targets for continued engagement, qualifications obtained and into employment) and formally reviewed.

2. Undertake initial assessments of barriers to employment and registrations completed with assessment and diagnostic tools including an employability barriers checklist.  Assessment uncovers existing achievements, skills and strengths, interests and goals as well as barriers such as disability, essential skills, structural barriers, work experience and work-related issues, personal circumstances, debt and benefits issues, learning experience, mobility, childcare needs, convictions, housing issues, drug and alcohol misuse, health and wellbeing, confidence, motivation and self esteem.

3. Develop and implement individual action plans to overcome barriers: outlining goals, actions and outcomes. This to include one-to-one mentoring and group sessions, outdoor activities, providing a safe, relaxing environment underpinned by a community development approach within a structured and developmental process.

4. Undertake outreach mentoring within the community that best suits the needs of young people.

5. Build peoples self-esteem, self-confidence, motivation, resilience, and employability skills through the mentoring process.