A youth employment service has reached a milestone, having supported 500 young people with employment, mental health and housing problems since opening in 2021.
Pendle YES Hub, in Nelson town centre, provides a variety of support for people aged 16 to 24, including help with applying for work, free training, free social activities and sports to boost the confidence of attendees, and direct access to local mental health and housing support services.
The hub also helps businesses recruit by identifying potential candidates for job vacancies on behalf of employers, after having already provided them with the training and experience they need to work in a variety of jobs.
Of the 500 young people who have registered with Pendle YES Hub to access different services, 406 have received support to improve their employability. While some then use their new skills and experience to apply for work in their own time, 156 of these have found jobs or apprenticeships directly through the team.
Adnan Irfan, aged 21, first visited the employment service in September 2022 as he was looking for work and wanted to gain new skills to support this.
The support led to Adnan taking part in a work placement with Morrisons that included free training, leading to him gain a Level 2 customer service qualification.
The placement and training was arranged by Pendle YES Hub partners Positive Action in the Community (PAC), through their work delivering the employment programme MPT Steps, and led to Adnan later finding a job at Tim Hortons.
Adnan said: “Pendle YES Hub helped me build my confidence back after two years of lockdown. The courses provided at the Hub helped me secure a job that I enjoy and look forward to. Their activities have boosted my morale and encouraged me to get out more and be active.”
Wavecrest, an international telecommunications provider with a customer service centre based in Nelson, is one of many organisations who have received recruitment support through the service.
Paul Flanagan, head of customer service at Wavecrest, said: "I had been struggling with recruitment in the area for a couple of months. I wanted to engage with a company that invested in the community and helped the younger generation. I visited Pendle YES Hub and it became apparent this is what I was looking for.
"As a result they put forward a couple of candidates for a vacancy, a really good mix that met our specifications. After interviews within Pendle YES Hub itself and our customer service centre we recruited a successful candidate. Within our business it is very important to find people with excellent customer service skills and we did with their support."
The successful candidate, Brandon Carmody, said: "I attended a job fair at Pendle YES Hub. At the time, what was on offer wasn't suitable but I spoke to an advisor at the Hub who then let me know about the Wavecrest role. A year and half after my interview, I'm still there and it's the happiest I've ever been in any job. I get to speak to people all around the world and the office is very welcoming.”
Pendle YES Hub is delivered in partnership by Active Lancashire and Positive Action in the Community (PAC) on behalf of Pendle Council.
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