West London Business member Harrow, Richmond and Uxbridge Colleges (HRUC) has launched Future Start, a youth employment hub at Uxbridge College created as a joint venture with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), with two job coaches from local Jobcentres permanently based on campus from Monday 7 September.
The hub was formally opened on Monday 14 September by Andrew Western MP (Minister for Employment), who cut the ribbon alongside Danny Beales MP (Uxbridge and South Ruislip) and representatives from the DWP. The Future Start partnership brings together Hillingdon Chamber of Commerce, employers, local authorities, education providers and community organisations.
HRUC students and young people across Hillingdon will have access to wellbeing and personal support, employer-sponsored personal development programmes, skills development and training, and progression into employment through job matching, recruitment support and in-work mentoring.
Andrew Western MP, Minister for Employment, said: “The Future Start hub here in Hillingdon and the 360 others that the government are going to create around the country are absolutely crucial to giving young people the connections, the confidence and the support they need to be able to get into education, employment or training.”
Jo Withers, HRUC’s Executive Director for Business Growth and Partnerships, said: “The Future Start hub is an exciting new addition to our Uxbridge College campus, providing a vital link between education and employment and helping to transform outcomes for young people in Hillingdon. We’re excited to work with the DWP, Hillingdon Chamber of Commerce, local authorities, and other organisations to help young people overcome the barriers to finding a job.”
The hub is part of the Government’s Youth Guarantee, introduced to ensure young people can access further learning and help into a job or an apprenticeship, with nearly one million young people currently not in education, employment or training.
