Funding has been approved to expand a county-wide programme helping disadvantaged young people in Oxfordshire access employment and career opportunities.
Oxfordshire Youth has been awarded £150,000 in funding from Oxfordshire County Council, delivered as £50,000 a year over the next three years.
The investment will support the charity’s Business Guardians programme, enabling it to work with more employers and reach more young people across the county.
By 2028, the funding is expected to help an additional 500 disadvantaged young people, including care leavers, who are most at risk of exclusion from the labour market.
The Business Guardians programme connects young people with local employers through industry-specific workshops, work experience placements, mentoring schemes and employability events. It aims to remove barriers to employment and create clearer pathways into meaningful work.
Councillor Ben Higgins, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Future Economy and Innovation, said:
“Oxfordshire Youth has been championing the county’s young people since 1947, and the work it does is needed now more than ever.
“Today’s young people face growing pressures on their mental health and employment prospects, while family and relationship breakdowns are impacting the numbers of young people moving into care.
“That’s why we’re proud to be able to provide financial support for this valuable programme, which aims to give Oxfordshire’s young people who need it the most, equitable access to opportunities that can unlock and nurture their potential.”
The funding will enable Oxfordshire Youth to work with employers to tackle youth unemployment, deliver industry-specific workshops and events, offer work placements and work experience, and organise mentorship programmes.
Businesses already involved in the programme include ARC Oxford, Blenheim Palace, BMW Mini, Cleenol, David Lloyd Clubs Oxford, Ebbon Group, Freeths, The Oxford Collection and Lucy Group. Oxfordshire County Council will also join the programme as principal sponsor and strategic partner.
Emmy O’Shaughnessy, Director of Innovation and Growth and Deputy CEO of Oxfordshire Youth, and Chair of Youth Futures Oxfordshire Inclusive Economy Partnerships, said:
“We are delighted that Oxfordshire County Council is joining as principal sponsor and strategic partner of the Business Guardians. This is a pioneering model that has mobilised nine of Oxfordshire’s leading employers to partner with Oxfordshire Youth to address the inequalities that hold too many young people back from achieving their potential.
“The programme addresses the government’s concern that one in eight young people are not in education, employment or training by creating coordinated pathways between employers, young people, and the voluntary children and young people’s sector.
“What makes this partnership so powerful is that it’s rooted in shared values: a belief that every young person deserves access to meaningful careers, that inequality must be actively dismantled, not just discussed, and that hope is built through action.”
The council has identified Business Guardians as a key part of Oxfordshire Works, the county’s response to the government’s Get Britain Working Plan.
Over the next three years, the programme will collaborate with Oxfordshire Youth to unlock apprenticeship pathways, work placements, employability workshops and mentorship opportunities for young people facing multiple barriers to work.
