Haringey launching phone app to tackle youth disengagement

A smartphone app to help young unemployed people find job and training opportunities is to be launched by Haringey Council.

The app which builds on a project run earlier this year by the innovative Kirklees council in West Yorkshire, is to be targeted at young people aged between 16-18 years not in employment, education or training - the so-called NEETs.

It is being developed by Homes for Haringey, the council-owned housing agency whose area includes Northumberland Park, a ward in North Tottenham with some of the highest youth unemployment rates in the country, at around 40%.

As part of a wider programme called Project 2020, it will allow young people helped by youth workers to search for jobs, training courses and work placements, and the agency is also hoping to use it as a communication tool supporting a new mentor scheme for young people. Communication using an app can be free, compared with ordinary texting which can incur charges.

Aaron Peake, project officer at Homes for Haringey, said the project's initial focus would be on those areas of Tottenham where this summer's riots had started. "The need's been there for a long time but the riots encapsulated the feeling. We need to pull these kids out of the vicious cycle they are caught in."

The Kirklees project found that while young people are familiar with technology and interested in using the smartphone, they were not aware that they could access information, advice and support relating to education, employment and training using the device.

Kirklees has had interest in the app from a number of other councils including Haringey, and has been happy to offer it to public bodies for free adaptation.

Story via UKauthorITy.com