In order to deliver an effective advice service for young people, the Youth Innovation Project at Citizens Advice Redbridge (CAR) are looking to hire young people who are on Universal Credit under the government Kickstart Scheme to deliver the new advice service. These young people will be offered training to and give them opportunities they need to help them along their future career path, having gained a real skill set and confidence at the end of the Kickstart scheme.
CAR are partnering with Citizens Advice Barking & Dagenham on this project for the year and hope to conduct research throughout this period about how to develop the best advice service that that can be offered for young people in Redbridge. In order to successfully apply for the Kickstart scheme, a minimum of 30 jobs will be created. The positions will be with a view to developing an advice service specifically with young people in mind. A key part of this project is creating a forum of young people to discuss the project, and most importantly the ways in which the service can be tailored to meet the needs of young people in Redbridge. Statistics show that very few young people use Citizens Advice services compared to other demographics, so CAR hope to hear from any young people who might be interested in contributing a small amount of their time on a fortnightly basis to discuss the project and help improve opportunities and services for young people. No particular experience of being in such groups in the past is necessary or needed, just a willingness to discuss ideas and share in conversations about how to improve our services. This will be a great opportunity for young people in Redbridge with a range of different experiences to contribute their ideas, innovate, workshop them and provide insight that could make a big difference to young people in both Redbridge and Barking & Dagenham.
CAR are particularly keen to hear from young people aged 16-25 on the autistic spectrum. The voice of young people with Autism and/or Learning Difficulties is an important one especially with regards to accessibility and would be very keen to have someone from this community on the forum. For more information and to apply, click here; https://forms.gle/3YVhRx5woCm7hdSN7