Stavros Niarchos Foundation and Employability, Athens
When Covid-19 hit and lockdown restrictions took effect, Prince’s Trust International and delivery partner Knowl Social Enterprise recognised the need to rapidly adapt our employability programmes in Athens to best address the needs of young people and prepare them for the changing labour market.
Greece, already battling high levels of youth unemployment, was deeply impacted by the stalled hospitality and tourism sectors and many young people found themselves without work or a source of income. In October 2020, Prince’s Trust International proudly partnered with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) with the aim to support hundreds of unemployed young people in Greece. This support included the delivery of virtual upskilling programmes, equipping young people with the tools they needed to rebuild their futures, as well as providing pathways to sustainable employment opportunities.
Get Into is a concentrated skills-building programme which supports young people who are not in education, training or employment to take their next step. Combining practical work experience and mentoring with facilitated learning, the programme is specifically designed with employers to help young people grow in confidence, develop their skills and experience, and raise their aspirations, whilst offering the opportunity to secure permanent work.
Over the last year, Knowl Social Enterprise has worked closely with Greek businesses who are able to offer sustainable employment to young people, in industries that have remained operational through lockdown restrictions. Knowl has worked closely with these employers to co-create training curriculum to best prepare young people for the changing labour market. To ensure we can take a tailored approach to each young person’s needs, we are implementing a range of employability programmes from our portfolio, including a shortened version of the Get Into programmes targeted at those who are more work-ready (Ready2Work). This flexible approach allows us to reach young people at varying stages of their professional development and respond to differing recruitment needs.
With thanks to the SNF, in the last 6 months alone, over 300 young people have had the opportunity to work directly with leading employers to bridge the skills gap, develop their professional experience and improve their career prospects. Of these, over 100 young people have secured full-time, permanent jobs through Prince’s Trust International’s employability programmes. We are grateful to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation for their ongoing partnership and their commitment to the young people of Greece.
“I am really glad that these things happen – that there is someone to help tell us what we can do and which direction to go, how to get out there – because there isn’t usually anyone to help people our age.”
Stavros Niarchos Foundation
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) is one of the world’s leading private, international philanthropic organisations offering support to organisations worldwide whose work is collaborative, proceeds transparently under strong leadership and sound management, and aims to achieve transformational change and self-sustaining benefits that are shared widely. SNF is dedicated to achieving broad, lasting and positive impact for society at large through its worldwide partners. The Foundation also supports projects that facilitate the formation of public-private partnerships as an effective means for serving public welfare. Since 1996, the Foundation has awarded over 4,900 grants to non-profit organisations in more than 130 countries around the world, seeking to help create lasting positive impact for society in the areas of arts and culture, education, health and sports, and social welfare.