One of my main reasons for entering politics is a desire to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to fulfil their potential. A key part of this is ensuring that everyone of working age can get onto the jobs ladder and pursue a career which they find rewarding.
The economy in Tooting has been performing well for a couple of years now and unemployment has fallen to just 2%. Although youth unemployment is falling too, it remains at a higher level with 245 of our 16-24 year olds out of working and claiming benefits as of July.
To address this I am spending a lot of time on various projects that provide young people with inspiration and work opportunities. On my travels in the past year I have seen a lot of good work being done by local organisations and employers to this end, but I've noticed that not all of them are aware of the other groups working in this field, nor of the funding available to support youth enterprise.
As such, I'm organising a Youth Enterprise Summit at the Tooting Trident Centre next month for local employers, charities and government agencies involved with providing opportunities for young people who are out of work and education. The goal of the Summit is to provide coordinated action across these groups to make sure that every out-of-work person gets the right support for their situation, helping even those in the most challenging circumstances and with the least developed skills.
Many thanks to the Business Launchpad charity for hosting the event. I have about 20 organisations attending, but we have space for a few more and if you run a business or charity that works with young people and would be interested in participating, please email me at [email protected] as I'd be pleased to invite you.
After the event I will post the minutes to this website so that you can see the action we will be taking in future so as to help provide opportunity to all.