Are you interested in partnering with Catch22 to build a project that will inform our approach to scaling digital skills interventions?
A new partnership between TikTok and Catch22 is set to help thousands of young people, currently not in education, employment or training (NEET), find work in the creative and digital industries. It will train disadvantaged young people in creative, digital skills and connect them to sustainable opportunities in their local creative industries, which in turn can adapt and reach new audiences.
Catch22 is working with Microsoft UK to deliver Digital Edge, a programme that opens pathways into digital careers for people facing barriers to employment. By designing and delivering a fresh pre-employment training program focusing on what support employers need to diversify their workforce, we’re helping young people re-imagine their futures and secure digital apprenticeships or jobs.
The Barclays LifeSkills programme helps people aged 16+ who are facing barriers to work find education and employment opportunities. We work with high-growth businesses and entrepreneurs, including clients and suppliers, to open up their doors to new talent. Workshops and insight days also help volunteer professionals connect with people on the programme.
Working with the support of partners such as JPMorgan Chase and the Rothschild Foundation, Catch22 is advancing its vision to address the UK employment crisis and empower those furthest from the job market to take a positive first step. Horizons is set to initially help 400 people who face barriers to work into jobs and training.
Digital Leap is a new employability programme, funded by Salesforce and delivered by Catch22. The programme will be based in London and will create pathways into employment for people facing barriers to work into digital roles, opening up diversity in the digital sector, addressing the UK skills gap and ultimately tackling inequality.
Thanks to National Grid and Catch22, 450 young people across the UK from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds will be supported to progress careers in the energy industry. Catch22 is one of the first UK based organisations to participate as a charity partner in Grid for Good - National Grid’s new flagship Corporate Responsibility community investment programme.
Funded by the Mayor of London’s Violence Reduction Unit, we’ve partnered with Redthread to tackle youth violence and online behaviour. Our training programme teaches frontline workers how to have difficult conversations with at-risk young people about violent content on social media. We also teach young people skills in social media management to harness their skills for good.
Nominet have partnered with Catch22 to fund a year-long research project to gain deeper understanding into the barriers of digital skills and access for some of the most disadvantaged groups in the UK. This research will create a series of four insights papers to explore the barriers to digital skills.
The Spark Fund, established by the Avast Foundation and Global Fund for Children, is an innovative, participatory, youth-led fund. As an advisor and innovation partner, Catch22 are providing research support and advice, towards tackling injustice and inequality, driving transformational change, and building a more inclusive world.
Catch22 is participating in the “Deloitte Digital Connect”, a programme designed to help charities close the digital divide. Deloitte will be offering pro bono business support in collaboration with CAST—a charity championing the use of digital for social good, helping to create a more responsive, resilient and digitally-enabled social sector.
NFPSynergy are the evaluation partner for our Catch22 Bright Light programme. Funded by The Clothworkers’ Foundation, Bright Light’s aim is to support care leavers into apprenticeships and jobs. We develop solutions, share learnings and aim to influence national policy. NFPSynergy are evaluating the programme, to evidence its impact and demonstrate the value of this programme.
Catch22 and Hatch Enterprise have joined forces to launch the CatchXHatch Procurement Accelerator. The goal is to support social ventures to win public sector contracts. Big Society Capital are supporting Catch22 and Hatch to develop a venture-support programme and fund, to empower organisations creating technology-solutions to tackle youth unemployment.
The Social Business Trust (SBT) are supporting Catch22 to deepen our commitment and impact to youth unemployment and public sector system reform, through professional support and consultation. SBT is supporting Catch22 to achieve our ambition of becoming the engine room of public service innovation in the UK.
Catch22 has partnered with Learning and Work Institute (L&WI)—a research organisation focused on learning and employment, and its impact on individuals, communities, and the wider economy—to evaluate the Horizons program, highlighting effective practice in program design and delivery. The Horizons programme supports people facing social barriers into work and training.
New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) help to develop skills and tools for evaluation design, data collection and analysis, to capture impact independently and determine the effectiveness of the digital delivery. NPC are evaluating The Social Switch Project,, a programme focused on online safety and opportunity.
London’s Violence Reduction Unit is focused on addressing the complex causes which lie behind young people becoming involved with, or being victims of, violent crime. That’s why we are investing in The Social Switch Project, which supports young people in building their creative and digital skills and which will continue to help many more young Londoners reach their true potential.
Lib Peck, Director of London’s Violence Reduction Unit
Movement to Work is a charity coalition of the UK’s leading employers, civil society and government, supporting young people to break the ‘no job – no experience’ cycle that stops talented people getting into education, employment or training. Catch22 connects people facing barriers to work to the quality work placements in the Movement to Work network and supports their agenda to bring about lasting social change.
FutureDotNow is a coalition of leading companies and civil society groups, working in collaboration with government to boost the UK’s digital skills. We have joined forces with FutureDotNow to work on our shared mission of driving change, to ensure that everyone across the UK can thrive in a digital world. By enhancing the UK’s digital skills, Catch22 seeks to empower individuals with the right skills for the future of work.
We build trust with our partners, getting to know them and solving problems together.
Our work is outreach based. We embed ourselves in local communities and tailor support to local need.
We design services with the people we’re supporting. They are experts in what they need; we listen and build new ideas together.
The Social Switch Project is switching the narrative on how social media’s relationship to youth violence is understood, tackled and solved. The Social Switch Project is an innovative three-pronged initiative to tackle youth violence: training frontline professionals on the challenges and opportunities of an online world, training young people in social media management to access digital careers, and awarding grants to grassroots community organisations.
The Social Switch Project has trained over 500 frontline professionals to be able to challenge harmful online activity and to talk about the opportunities a digital world presents. The free interactive training helps frontline professionals, like youth workers and teachers, answer questions like: “When is it OK to intervene with a young person’s online life?” and “How you can you encourage creativity and healthy personal expression online?”
Case Study: 17-year-old Anthony Owuso-Ansah had A Levels and some retail work experience, but his age and lack of opportunities meant he struggled to find a sustainable job. Through The Social Switch Project’s free three-week Social Media Training programme, his potential was highlighted by his Careers Coach. Following the programme, Anthony was offered a role as a Digital Marketing Apprentice at Google. Anthony and his family are ecstatic and feel positive about the direction of his future career.
The Social Switch Project has funded 30 grassroots projects across London, which support and engage young people in their communities. For example, with a grant from The Social Switch Project, the 1000 Black Boys project is organising events for young people with inspiring guest speakers and giving organisations that work with young people a platform to inspire future generations.
I want to use it as an opportunity to inspire other young people, especially from Wandsworth where I’m from, to see that you can be successful regardless of your circumstances. Taking on this role is not just about me furthering my career, it’s about me growing a following and platform to inspire young people.
Anthony Owuso-Ansah, The Social Switch Project - Social Media Training Participant
Digital Edge sees Catch22 find and recruit candidates aged 18 to 30 who face a range of challenges – from gender and ethnicity barriers, homelessness, and mental health issues, to school exclusion and disability. The programme supports these individuals to access digital roles with local employers within Microsoft’s network of customers and partners.
Leon Wilson, aged 22, lacked direction. He was unemployed and had low confidence when job searching which became a barrier to his career progress. No one in his family or network had knowledge about the IT industry, which left him feeling isolated. Through taking part in Digital Edge, Leon had the opportunity to complete virtual work experience with a start-up, where he developed his technical knowledge, completed IT courses and took part in telephone screenings. With his new-found confidence and self-belief, Leon shows great potential and is eager to be put forward to potential employers.
These disadvantaged young people are often exactly the people who, with the right help, could have hugely successful careers in the sector. They are the people we must make sure don’t get left behind in a world increasingly dominated by technology. We see their potential and I hope that what we learn through this partnership with Catch22 will help others see it too.”
Hugh Milward, Director of Corporate External and Legal Affairs at Microsoft UK
Our Partnerships Manager Milly Harrison explores the catch-22 of finding work experience - and how our partnership with Salesforce and Movement to Work is helping those with barriers to work gain valuable experience.
Director of Partnerships, Kat Dixon looks at the drive we are seeing from people and organisations across the country who believe we can tackle youth unemployment together.
Industry experts explored how those furthest away from the job market can be supported into roles at our most recent Catch22 Employability Summit event.
Economic recovery offers a fresh opportunity to address inequality; we can bridge the digital skills gap whilst supporting low-income earners to build their future, proposes Kat Dixon, Catch22's Director of Partnerships.
Incorporating a volunteering element into our partnerships work is something we strive for. In this blog, Partnerships Manager, Milly Harrison, looks at the impact this has.
Catch22’s Director of Employability, Victoria Head, talks about the five actionable steps employers can take right now to have an impact.
