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Four ways businesses are shaping the futures of young people in London

East London Business Alliance builds the connection between businesses and local communities. Here, they spotlight four initiatives doing great things for young people.

Mentoring Works programme matches Year 10 and Sixth Form students to business mentors. Students are encouraged to develop knowledge and skills needed for their future education, training or careers. To date, nearly 7,000 young people have benefited from having a mentor.

CV Surgery provides a volunteer to remotely check university students’ CV and/or LinkedIn profiles. Students get help making their CV more professional and appealing. This can be accompanied by mock interviews conducted by business volunteers, mentoring and visits to companies.

Eagles is a paid six- to nine-month graduate programme offering a unique opportunity to join top London firms. Many of our graduates faced challenges via traditional routes into these companies. Eagles receive intensive in-house training before starting their placements and have a mentor throughout. To date 275 people have benefited from this programme. As a result of this support, 96 per cent of Eagle graduates secure a professional job.

Parity project aims at improving the employability of young black men, who face particular disadvantage in the jobs market. Business volunteers invite Parity participants into their workplaces for insight visits, networking with professionals, mentoring, work placements, shadowing schemes, CV checks and mock interviews.

Thank you to our sponsor T. Rowe Price for supporting us in the development of this content and ongoing partnerships.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

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