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Employment initiative helps 100s of young black men in London

An evaluation of a two-year, £1 million project to increase the employment rates for young black men in London is being launched today. The Moving on Up (MoU) Initiative is funded by Trust for London and City Bridge Trust, in partnership with the Black Training and Enterprise Group (BTEG).

The MoU Initiative aimed both to directly increase the employment rate amongst young black men in London through supporting targeted interventions; and to generate learning that could influence employers, mainstream employment support providers and funders/commissioners.

There were a number of positive outcomes from the Initiative:

However, the research showed that some key barriers remain: 

“Employers struggle to fill almost 1 in 4 job vacancies due to skills shortages. At the same time, there is an untapped talented pool of young people who are ready and keen to work. The unemployment rate for young black men is double the rate for young white men, even when they have the same level of qualifications. Thousands of young black men in London are available for and actively looking for work. That is not an impossible problem to solve. If employers, job centres, support providers and young black men pull together, we can end this inequality.”

Bharat Mehta CBE, Chief Executive of Trust for London

This evaluation shows that what works to support young black men into decent jobs are locally developed, community-based services which are targeted at young black men and tailored to meet their needs, delivered by advisers who give them time and commitment. Peer group work and direct contact with employers are also factors for success.

The unemployment rate for young black men is double the rate for young white men, even when they have the same level of qualifications. There are thousands of young black men in London who are available for and actively looking for work. However, it is not an impossible problem to solve. If employers, job centres, support providers and young black men pull together, we can end this inequality.

You can read the evaluation report here.