One of my passions is ensuring that young people in Wandsworth are able to find work. But while the economy in Tooting is growing well and creating jobs, we still have a significant number of 'NEETs' (not in Education, Employment or Training), who are struggling to take their first step towards a job.
So six months ago, while at a Jobs Fair in the Morden Mosque, I met the team behind Pop Up Talent, which inspires NEETs and other young people into employment using their innovative Pop Up Talent shops. I was very impressed with their vision and the creativity they have shown in running these 'spontaneous jobs fairs' to make job-finding a colourful and exciting process for those aged 16 to 24 years. So I pitched for them to run one of their events in Tooting, using my local contacts to make it happen, and I'm pleased to report they said yes!
As such, we will be running the first ever Tooting Pop Up Talent day at Mushkil Aasaan, 222 Tooting High Street on Friday 19th September from 3 to 7pm.
Please do encourage any 16-24 year olds you know to attend the event. Not only is the day itself very rewarding, but any young person can sign up for ongoing training and skill-building provided by the charity behind Pop-Up Talent.
Equally, if you are an employer who would be happy to do a demonstration of your trade on the day, please do let me know.