Virgin Money and Barnardo’s: Digital and employability skills for the most at risk
Young people facing disadvantage have experienced particular unemployment challenges through the pandemic, which has been further cemented by the current cost-of-living crisis.
Today, over 300,000 young people in the UK do not have basic digital skills and 770,000 young people aged 16 – 24 are classed as NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training); unable to get a job; or are trapped in an unbreakable cycle of disadvantage, isolation and poor mental health.
With the right support and opportunities to excel, these children can develop and build long-term careers. Together we will enable thousands of young people to live, learn and work.
We know it’s important to Virgin Money to help people be happier about money, and we know by providing young people with support around education and employment we can provide meaningful opportunities to help them on the road to financial freedom.
Barnardo’s Employment, Training and Skills (ETS) programme provides employability support, education provisions and wrap-around support for around 3,000 young people each year. The success of the programme sees around 70% of young people move on to positive destinations, such as full-time employment, and in some areas this is as high as 90%.
How will our partnership with Virgin Money help support children and young people?
Together, we will support thousands of young people who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) or who are at risk of becoming NEET.
We need your help to:
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deliver digital and financial skills sessions across our ETS programmes
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help upskill our staff around financial inclusion and digital skills so they can better support our young people
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create support guides for Virgin Money’s young customers
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provide opportunities for young people to reach a positive destination
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give young people wrap-around support to help build resilience and improve their mental health
We are working harder than ever to provide opportunities for social mobility, delivering hundreds of services to at risk children and young people across the UK. With Virgin Money’s support, we can improve opportunities for young people today, so they can build a positive future tomorrow.
We have ambitious plans to support 750,000 young people by 2025, creating better opportunities for their futures.
I have been on Building Hope Academy for two and a half months and I love it. It has helped turn my life around. Before I came here, I had a multitude of mental health problems.
However, Building Hope Academy has helped me overcome that. It has given me something to focus on, working hard, having a goal set in mind. It helps me forget everything else.
Lee, 19
Lee was referred to Barnardo’s Building Hope Academy (part of Barnardo’s ETS Programme) aged 19
5 reasons to vote for Barnardo’s:
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You will be supporting the largest children’s charities in the UK to make transformative change for young people. Helping children and young people in poverty has been a core part of Barnardo’s work for over 150 years
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You will be supporting disadvantaged young people who are struggling to cope – in May 2023, research by Co-op and Barnardo’s identified that, in the last 6 months, 41% of young people have worried about their mental wellbeing and 46% have been worried about being able to afford things. Help us change this by supporting young people find opportunities to develop their skills and access support
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You will be helping us support young people’s mental health - 1 in 4 young people (17-19 years) now have a probable mental disorder, rising from 1 in 10 in 2017. Supporting us means you will be helping support young people across the UK through these issues
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Virgin Money staff can be change makers – you can add value whilst volunteering and also have fun by taking in our fundraising challenges and events nationally
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Our work positively influences young people with the benefits reaching far into their futures. Virgin Money will help break down key barriers to education, employment and help young people be happier about money. Addressing these barriers is essential in creating long term impact for these young people’s lives
Share your knowledge volunteering
You can add real value by helping to educate and empower young people around digital skills and financial inclusion; breaking down barriers to employment.
Volunteering opportunities you could be a part of:
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Chocolate Trading Day – engage young people and take part in a ‘Chocolate Trading’ game to teach them about the basics of trading, money, and financial safety
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Careers insight sessions – use your skillset to teach young people about finance and the digital world, whilst working on improving their problem solving and presenting skills through different workshops and talks.
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Virtual employability support – record short career videos to be shared with students, or offer CV checks and advice
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Pro bono projects – support our organisational growth by lending your expertise to digital upskilling projects to improve our organisational processes
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Making a difference in a day – Team Challenges - Traditional volunteering sessions to decorate space at our services, including general painting, decorating, gardening and mural painting. Teams could also support community events taking place including campaigns, celebrations, and other events throughout the year
Have fun fundraising with us
If you’re looking to take the next step you could get involved with fundraising events to further support the work we do. These could include:
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Challenge events – from taking on the Barnardo’s Race Santa challenge, beating him to the North Pole, forming your own Virgin Money team to run a marathon or trek the 3 peaks – you can pick the challenge and fundraise from there! We also run challenge fundraising events all year round, which you can find out more about here.
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Bespoke fundraisers – collaborate with us on tailored fundraisers based on your interests as employees. For example, we worked with a partner on a month-long project where employees logged wellbeing activities like meditation or jogging, encouraging donations whilst looking after their own mental health
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Seasonal events – get involved in events with the young people we support, like our Dress to Express campaign, Young Supporters Concert at the Royal Albert Hall or our Young Voices performances
Raise awareness with Barnardo’s
Our engaging resources will help build knowledge around poverty and mental health – helping to break down any stigma, whilst providing support for employees. These include:
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Webinars – attend sessions led by our clinical team that offer insight and advice on topical issues surrounding poverty and mental health, like building resilience and managing anxiety
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Children’s Mental Health Week – be a part of Children’s Mental Health Week and help us raise the profile of children and young people’s mental health by speaking about the week to friends, family and in your professional networks
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Campaigns – support our policy and advocacy work through our campaigns to help us make improvements to the law, policy, and professional practices we are fighting to change
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‘Parenting Smart’ – share our online parenting advice tool, from our clinical experts, that provides practical tips to parents and carers to support children’s wellbeing and manage behaviour
Get involved
From taking on a physical challenge, to fundraising from your home, you can help us support children and young people around the UK.
Our partnerships
Incredible things happen when you believe in children. Read more about how we work with partners to best support children and young people, and their families.
Support our campaigns
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