Hi everyone,

We urgently need your help to make a difference.

Right now, nearly 1 million young people aged 16–24 in the UK are not in education, employment or training. That’s roughly 1 in 8 young people being left behind.

At the same time, we expect 16-year-olds to be “work ready”, to apply for apprenticeships, walk into interviews and step into the world of work.

But how can we expect that when so many have never had the chance to experience it?

Safe, legal and age-appropriate work opportunities for 13–15-year-olds are becoming harder and harder to find. Yet simple experiences, such as turning up on time, taking responsibility, understanding the value of money, earning pocket money or speaking to adults with confidence, can help young people build the foundations they need to succeed in the workplace.

From 16, there are established pathways such as apprenticeships, where employers can receive Government support towards training and are given a clear framework for developing young people. We believe there should be an age-appropriate pathway before 16 that helps young people develop these basic workplace skills and experiences, so that by the time they are old enough to apply for an apprenticeship, they are better prepared and genuinely “work ready”.

So we’re asking you to do two things:

1. Sign this petition calling on the Government to create a national, supported 'First Work Programme' for 13–15-year-olds, similar in principle to the structured support available through apprenticeships from 16. The programme would combine age-appropriate paid work with learning, employer guidance, safeguarding and appropriate financial support, helping young people build the skills and confidence they need to become “work ready” by 16.
    
2. Share it with your friends, family, schools, businesses, youth workers and communities. Our goal is to reach 30,000 signatures, demonstrating strong public support for creating safer pathways into paid work for 13–15-year-olds and strengthening our case for change with Government.

We’re already putting this into practice through our pilot work in South London, working with local partners to create safe, legal work opportunities for young people.
 
We know there are important restrictions around the type of work young people can do and the hours they can work. We are not asking for those protections to be removed. With the right framework, information, support and safeguarding, we believe we can create more opportunities without compromising young people's safety.

If you can help us bring more people into this conversation, we can build a movement strong enough to show Government that young people need opportunities to prepare for work before 16, not simply an expectation to be ready for it at 16. Not every young person will go to university, and we need to give young people different pathways to discover their strengths, build skills and prepare for their future.

We can’t do it without you.

With thanks,
Ana Moutinho & Sammy Henry
Co-founders, Second Corner, Empath CIC

https://secondcorner.co.uk/
share your views: https://www.instagram.com/empath.cic