Through the Merseyside Enterprising Young People project, part-funded by the European Social Fund and the Youth Employment Initiative, St Helens Chamber are able to support young people in the Liverpool City Region into training, employment or to start their own businesses.
The Merseyside Enterprising Young People (MEYP) project is designed to give young people the skills and support they need to achieve their career goals. Career Coaches work one on one with young people aged 18-30 to see where their skills and interests lie, and inspire and motivate them to take the steps they need towards achieving their goals.
Mike Unsworth, Career Development Manager at St Helens Chamber, explained: “The MEYP programme is a great project which helps young people take that first step towards employment. Sometimes it can be overwhelming with so many options available in the early stages of their careers, but our Career Coaches make it easy to understand which route will suit them best.
“We have close links with lots of local employers and services which means we can refer young people onto services within our partner network, and of course our own Apprenticeship and Business Start Up team who can help young people wanting to go down these routes too.”
The MEYP programme aims to not only give young people the information and guidance they need to be a success, but also enrich their learning with access to talks and seminars from local charities and referral partners.
Mike continued: “We work closely with a range of different providers such as No More Knives, Young Peoples Drug and Alcohol team, Smoke Free and more to provide talks and education to participants who might need it.
“Access to these partners really helps participants with a range of issues to access the support they need.”
Each participant on the MEYP programme is assigned a dedicated Career Coach to create an action plan based on their skills and previous experience. Support from the programme is ongoing and Career Coaches check in regularly with participants to assess their progress and support them with their CV, applications and more.
Mike added: “Our team can offer a range of support through MEYP, and can give participants that boost of confidence they need to start their careers. We also have a range of free short courses with qualifications to help them demonstrate their skills and knowledge to employers.”
To find out more about the MEYP programme, contact Starting Point on 01744 698800
