Britain Works!

Last week’s unemployment statistics highlighted that young people aged 16-24 are at most risk from long term unemployment. Some alarming numbers:

·         728,00 16 to 24-year-olds are currently out of work — that’s almost one in five (19.2%)

·         77% of businesses agree that prior work experience matters when they’re hiring people

·         However 88% of business owners do not run a formal work experience programme open to people without contacts at the company.

Britain Works is a Microsoft commitment to help 500,000 people into work by 2010. Now in its second year, we’ve helped more than 104,000 people to find work since our launch last September.

Many young people’s lives have been changed by Britain Works so far – you can watch Neil Clenton and Emma Simms tell their stories themselves on YouTube.

Looking ahead, this year Britain Works will focus on helping young people to get their first break through work experience.

We will create 100,000 opportunities for young people, in partnership with Remploy, LinkedIn and our partners and customers across the UK business community. We will also open up 150 new work experience placements within Microsoft and connect young people with everything they need to help them get their first break. We are calling on businesses to offer work placements for one week to change a lifetime.

You can find out more about Britain Works on Facebook or the website and follow all the latest news and updates on Twitter and LinkedIn.