Closing the unemployment gap for young people in Leigh Park

Following yesterday’s news that UK unemployment remains unchanged at 4.2 per cent, an initiative aimed at tackling the issue in one of the country’s most deprived areas has successfully helped 278 young people in their search for local jobs.

Leigh Park in Havant has areas within the top five per cent most deprived in England, and health and economic outcomes in the area are significantly worse than the averages for Hampshire. In 2019, it was identified by Local Trust as one of six ‘left behind’ places in the south east of England, which have higher rates of unemployment and child poverty.

The Link Up Leigh Park project was set up by Havant Borough Council in 2022 in an effort to remove societal, health and economic barriers to 16 to 24-year-olds accessing high-quality, high-value work. So far, it has supported projects which have helped 160 young people enter paid employment and 195 upskill with further training.

Other areas of the programme have focused on supporting young people to remain in education, guiding young people back into training and work, and supporting employers to connect with their local community.

The University of Portsmouth has supported the scheme on a research programme to build insight into the needs of young people from the area. The insight gathered has helped inform work to reduce hurdles in accessing education, training and/or employment.

Dr Julie Udell, Associate Head (Employability and Placements) in the University’s Department of Psychology, said: “Being in meaningful work with fair pay and opportunities for progression has a positive effect on health, creates social connections, and lifts people out of poverty, reducing the risk of poor long-term health outcomes.

“We are really proud of what we’ve managed to achieve so far as part of the project, in collaboration with the council and other partners, and are looking forward to seeing what this year has in store.”

Over the past two years, interviews and focus groups have taken place involving over 100 participants from community groups, the council, schools, colleges and businesses in Leigh Park. 

With data collection now complete, researchers are identifying common themes and patterns of what each group has talked about so that services can come together to develop impactful, sustainable interventions to move young people forward.

“One of the things that came out was a need for mentoring programmes from young people to help them move from college into work or Higher Education”, added Dr Udell.

“We’re now working with Havant and South Downs College to test out a pilot study with a group of Year 11 students. So far, the results have been really positive, and we can see that the young people are feeling more at ease with the transition.

“The expectation is the programme will roll out to additionally support Year 10/11 students as they move forward into their GCSE examination year.”

Meanwhile, Havant Borough Council has also set up a Link Up Youth Hub, in partnership with the Department of Work and Pensions, so young people can get advice for careers and access resources. This service provides a tailored approach for local young people which includes community and health partners working together with work coaches to help move young people into employment.

Councillor Alex Rennie, Leader of Havant Borough Council, said: “I’m delighted to see the positive impact for local young people being achieved through this considered and targeted partnership. Real change is happening as a result with long-term benefits – not just for the individuals involved, but businesses and the wider community.”

The Link Up Leigh Park project has been funded by a Health Foundation’s Economies for Healthier Lives grant.