PEF Hosts Conference
PEF, in association with the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and Innovation Exchange, has organised a unique conference, “Collaborating for Change”. Hosted at UBS, it brought together leaders from business, charity and local government to forge new partnerships to tackle the key issue of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET).
The Rt Hon Beverley Hughes MP, Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families, kick started proceedings by issuing a direct challenge to attendees: to make being NEET a thing of the past. Calling the event “incredibly important and potentially incredibly powerful”, she stated that she hoped that “discussion today will input directly into the department and policy.”
Spurred on by Beverley Hughes’ call to action and case studies presented by representatives from Fairbridge, Barnsley MBC and The Vine Trust Walsall, over 50 leaders from businesses, charities and local government were involved in identifying the principle challenges to overcoming the NEET issue and then joined workshops to come up with possible solutions. Themes ranged from funding and metrics to early intervention, building local collaboration, and providing services which young people actually want.
The event proved more than just a talking shop and generated a range of pledges and actions, covering funding, a commitment to host a seminar on impact measurement and a promise from business to look into the provision of more mentoring and work experience opportunities for disadvantaged young people. The Private Equity Foundation will continue to work with DCSF and Innovation Exchange to push forward the collaborative working and partnerships developed at the event.