EMPLOYABILITY
easy to discover what they’re
amazing at. So that’s our starting
point: to create those opportunities
for young people.”
“We had some fascinating
discussions with Barclays, and all the
data pointed to the fact that white
working-class boys are underserved.
There didn’t appear to be many
structured interventions that were
focused primarily on this group.”
Head of Barclays LifeSkills, Kirstie
Mackey, explains that the aim was
to develop a deeper intervention
with a target demographic, building
on the LifeSkills scale offering,
whereby teachers can download
careers-related resources or
request volunteers from banking to
come into their schools.
“We also work with charities in
areas where there are careers cold
spots,” she says. “But we looked at
what else needs doing in this area
and studied government reports
around social mobility and the
designated opportunity areas. We
realised there was a whole cohort
of young people who weren’t really
getting any support from corporates:
white working-class boys.”
Working with schools
The pilot launched in late 2017,
providing intensive employability
skills training for 50 white working-
class boys across 11 schools in
Bradford, Ipswich and Oldham —
three of the government’s 12 ‘social
mobility and opportunity areas’.
Schools chose participants from
Year 10 (a key point in the educational
cycle where a young person’s
journey can still be influenced).
Around 90% of the
participating students
showed noticeable
improvements
Personal guidance
The goal was to boost students’
aspirations and support them in
acquiring practical skills, while
demonstrating how a blended
approach to supporting young
people delivers the greatest impact,
and quantifying the link between
improving aspirations and increased
motivation to work harder in school.
Independent evaluation shows
that it delivered on the first three
points with further analysis due to
quantify the link around increased
motivation on GCSE results.
The blended format comprised
input from a facilitator (to create a
positive and inspiring environment
to engage students and enable self-
expression), mentors (trusted adults
from business offering further
support), and schools (helping
students to transfer their new skills
and attitudes into the formal learning
environment and using the sessions
to build rapport with students with
whom they could not previously
engage). It was acknowledged that
Key lessons from the pilot
The need to focus on young
people’s aspirations and
ambitions, including building
participants’ self-belief and
emphasising the importance of
career adaptability and
transferable skills.
parents should be involved in future
iterations of the pilot.
In practical terms, the boys,
accompanied by a teacher from
their school, attended six out-of-
school sessions (one per half term)
led by a motivational youth facilitator,
w h o fo c u s e d o n t h e c o re
transferable skills vital for the future
of work, as well as helping students
recognise their existing skills — and
link these to aspirations. Sessions
were held at inspirational venues,
such as local football clubs.
The benefits of a blended
approach to support students
over time: the role of people who
worked with the students and
the relationships built were as
important to success as the
programme’s focus and content.
The importance of identifying
the different needs and starting
points of students: findings show
that employability interventions
within a group setting work best
when students are grouped
according to their needs.
Barclays mentors, from diverse roles
and backgrounds, helped with group
work and offered one-to-one
guidance, while local employers
shed light on their industries and
career pathways. To provide direct
insights into the world of work,
students were also offered work
experience at Barclays.
Leonard stresses the importance
of external influences: “I think having
people who were not the students’
teachers or family members taking
an interest in them made it feel very
different,” she argues.
“We had a fantastic facilitator, Efe
Ezekiel; she’s a compelling individual
and really takes the group on a
journey. She led students through
each of the sessions, while the
Barclays volunteers were a bit like
teaching assistants.
“Barclays is a recognisable brand
and that gives the kids a ‘shoulders-
back’ moment,” she adds. “People
who work for a global bank — serious
adults — are interested in them. That,
in itself, raises their sights.”
Local role models were equally
vital. “There’s a remoteness in
‘oh, we’re all here from London’,”
admits Leonard. These guys were
from Bradford, Ipswich or Oldham.
T h a t h e l p e d b re a k d ow n
preconceptions and show the boys
that they were just ordinary people,
some of whom had had very similar
upbringings to the students.”
The complexity and diversity of
participants’ needs — and the
importance of holistic development
and personalisation of content —
became apparent early on. Some
boys had low literacy skills, a difficult
home life or lack of support; others
FUTURE TALENTED // 13