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 young people not in employment or training, who are struggling to take their first step towards a job. So I wanted to run an event which would help tackle this issue.
Six months ago, while at a Jobs Fair in the Morden Mosque, I met the team behind Pop Up Talent, which inspires disadvantaged and other young people into employment using their innovative Pop Up Talent shops. I was very impressed by their vision and with the creativity they have shown in running these 'spontaneous jobs fairs', which 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. All are welcome to attend.
I'm working in partnership with the Foyer Federation charity which runs Pop-Up Talent, making contact with local businesses, charities, agencies and education providers. This will ensure we have a varied line-up of trades and professions being demonstrated, as well as a lot of local young people to take advantage of the sessions on offer. Following the day, any young person can sign up for ongoing training and skill-building provided by Foyer Federation, making this an extremely valuable project for helping young people into work.
I very much hope you will support the event, either by attending yourself or pointing any young people you know in its direction.