Today, Friday 29 June, is UK Employability Day, a day of celebration for organisations helping jobseekers to gain and progress in work. Coordinated by the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA), hundreds of organisations are raising awareness about what they do to help people into work.

YSS, with its head office in Worcester, supports some of the most marginalised people in society to find sustained employment.

Lorraine Preece, YSS Chief Executive, said: “At YSS we work with many young people who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) and adults who are long term unemployed across a wide range of services. Whatever the cause, spending a long period of time out of education or work is harmful to a person’s future life chances and happiness. There is no single solution to the problem as the barriers faced are very different for each person and cover a range of issues including family relationships, physical health, mental health, substance misuse, accommodation and attitude thinking and behaviour.

 “YSS provides emotional and practical support to break through barriers, providing reliable and consistent support, setting clearly defined goals and empowering people to build the skills and confidence they need to make positive changes to their lives. In over 30 years of delivering services, we have built up good links with local education providers, trainers and employers.”

One example of YSS’ work to support people into long-term employment is through Building Better Opportunities (BBO). Funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and matched funded by the Big Lottery, BBO is a Worcestershire wide social inclusion programme to provide better, more comprehensive and coherent employment services. YSS, as part of a local partnership called Fusion, made up of housing providers and local voluntary sector organisations, employs a Job Coach who meets with BBO participants to assess their needs, agree work plans and arrange support to move them closer to or into sustained employment.

Click here to read a Building Better Opportunities case study.

YSS also supports young people with a caring role at home, aged between seven and 25, to maintain their education, employment and training.

Statistically young carers are less likely to go on to further education and have lower aspirations. They also have a tendency to find employment within the care sector.

Through the Worcestershire Young Carers service delivered by YSS, young carers are given the support and tools needed to maintain their education, giving them a greater chance of finding employment in later life. Recently YSS was awarded a grant of £20,000 to support and motivate young carers aged 16 and over specifically around education, training and employment, raising their aspirations and providing much needed emotional and practical support. The funding was received from the LDC Trust which was set up by Lawrence Cabudry, and YSS Worcestershire Young Carers keyworker, Sue Eltagouri, is taking the lead on delivering this project as part of the Worcestershire Young Carers service.

Lorraine said: “As part of the Worcestershire Young Carers service delivered by YSS since 2003, we work with young carers to develop their CVs and can assist in job applications. We develop targeted support plans and look at ways in which young carers can broaden their employment horizons and raise their aspirations about what they can achieve.”

YSS and thousands of other organisations help to transform the lives of jobseekers and their communities in their local area. UK Employability Day is a crucial day of recognition for the employment support sector and underlines the critical work of providers.

Click here to find out more about BBO. Click here to find out more about Worcestershire Young Carers.