Talent Match London

In 2014, we launched our employability offer, Talent Match London, a five year programme working with young people aged 18-24.

Funded by the Big Lottery Fund, London Youth led a partnership of organisations testing innovative youth-led solutions to unemployment and supporting young people who had been out of education, employment and training for at least 12 months, into sustainable employment.

Through a distinctive ‘youth work’ approach to employability, Talent Match London not only got young people into jobs but also to equipped them with the skills, capabilities and desire to navigate a fulfilling career pathway. 


The programme focused on three elements:

  1. Outreach: using creative ways to engage young people disengaged from existing provision. The programme worked within communities and localised networks to reach out to those who may not proactively access support.

  2. Youth Centred Approach empowering and supporting young people to carve out their own career plan. Each young person had a designated worker, providing them with tailored support to meet their needs and aspirations.

  3. Employer Engagement: working with employers to give young people insight into the world of work. Beyond creating specific job opportunities, this is about helping young people become job ready, and helping employers to be better able to support and sustain them in jobs.

Programme Data

download programme data

In December 2018, when the programme finished, over 2,500 young people had been part of the programme.

  • A total of 2,539 young people were supported
  • 59% moving into a positive pathway
  • 137 employers across the country achieved the Talent Match Mark, developed by London Youth

Download our latest programme data report for full details of the young people that Talent Match London is reaching and the outcomes they are achieving – including a breakdown of those young people who were previously not being supported by statutory support services. 

 


Areas of Delivery

Talent Match London supported young people across nine boroughs; Barking & Dagenham, Croydon, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Newham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest.

These boroughs were identified as having large gaps in provision for supporting disadvantaged young people’s needs – particularly those with entrenched barriers.


Please note, Talent Match London ended in December 2018. For more information about our current employability work click here.