News

The Rangers Charity Foundation has been chosen as one of only two organisations in Glasgow to host a new Youth Hub as part of an exciting new initiative from Jobcentre Plus designed to help local young people aged 18 – 24 into work.

Today saw the launch of the initiative at Ibrox, with partners and young people from across the city taking part in a virtual event which included a presentation from the Foundation’s Senior Community Executive, Jamie Duncanson, and a question and answer session.

Going forward, the new Central Youth Base South, Ibrox Hub will be based at the stadium within the Ibrox Community Hub and will be staffed by a full-time Youth Work Coach from Jobcentre Plus, who specialises in supporting young people.

The Youth Work Coach will work with young people who are identified as needing some extra support and are referred by Jobcentre Plus to the Hub.  With the 18 – 24 age group particularly hard hit by the pandemic in terms of their job prospects, this new scheme will provide the help this key group requires to get back on track in their search for employment.

The Youth Work Coach will also be involved in many of the Foundation’s own employability focused programmes such as Ready For Employment and Cashback – Towards New Futures, supporting participants in their journey back to employment.

The Youth Work coach can help with CVs, job search skills and interview techniques as well as providing information on apprenticeships, enterprise and career guidance. 

The Foundation’s Jamie Duncanson commented, “We’re delighted to be a Youth Hub partner.  This is a very new and innovative scheme and it will allow us to not only strengthen the employability provision we offer to our various groups, but also to support the local community by providing skills and employment pathways.

“We’ve had real success of late with programme participants landing jobs or getting places on further education courses, so this new initiative, building on our existing strong partnership with Jobcentre Plus, can only help us achieve even more.”

“We hope that in the future the Youth Hub will also include specialist teams from multi agencies who can support these young people further.”

Minister for Employment, Mims Davies said: “The new DWP Central Youth Base South, Ibrox Hub will ensure that local young jobseekers have the key support nearby that they need to find employment and access virtual training opportunities in a range of settings, whether that’s virtually or with face-to-face assistance, so it’s great to see DWP partner with the Rangers Charity Foundation.

“This is a challenging time for many young people but with our Plan for Jobs creating new opportunities, boosting skills, and supporting young people back into work and progress, we’re ready to push to build back better”.

In the short term, the Hub will be virtual until Covid restrictions are eased.

If you are interested in attending the Youth Hub and are aged 18-24, please contact your Work Coach for further information.