Immediate: 01/06/05
Connexions Oldham Leads the Way
Connexions in Oldham is making a real difference to the lives of some of the Borough’s most disadvantaged young people, according to recent figures.
Connexions is a government-funded service covering 13-19 year olds which aims to give them the best start in adult and working life, providing a universal information, advice and guidance service to all of Oldham’s young people aged from 13 to 19. This covers education, training and employment as well as information on leisure activities, volunteering, financial matters and other lifestyle issues.
Connexions also provides targeted support to those who need it most. It is delivered in Oldham by Positive Steps Oldham, the multi agency charity based on Union Street.
The figures, which cover the success measures on which Connexions is judged, confirm that, overall, Connexions in Oldham is outperforming the other nine boroughs of Greater Manchester.
Based on an aggregate of rankings across all eight measures, Connexions Oldham’s consistent performance puts it in first position for the whole of Greater Manchester. It is ranked no lower than fourth in any category and in the top two in five out of the eight.
Connexions Local Manager, Tim Mitchell, said: “These figures show that, in spite of the many challenges facing the borough, Connexions in Oldham is making real progress in keeping young people engaged in education, employment and training, in many cases surmounting the disadvantages they may have.”
“What is vitally important here are the real people behind the figures. Every single young person that we can help into education, employment or training has a much better chance of making a successful transition into adult life. This benefits them as individuals but also society as a whole.”
One of the key measures that the Government judges Connexions on is the percentage of young people who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET). From March 2004 to March 2005 the percentage of young people in Oldham in this group has dropped by 12.2%, to 7.2%.
This is now the third lowest NEET rate in Greater Manchester, behind the much more affluent boroughs of Trafford and Stockport. In real terms, this means nearly 100 young people have been brought back into education, training or employment. This makes it much more likely they will make a successful transition into adult life.
Oldham also has targets for increasing the proportion of young people from disadvantaged groups in education, employment or training. These groups include teenage mothers, young offender, care leavers and young people with learning or other disabilities.
Across all of these categories Oldham is making real progress and that progress can make really positive differences to young people’s lives.
Ends
Note to editors:
The eight Key Performance Indicators referred to in this news release are:
- Percentage of young people (16 – 18) Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET)
- Percentage of 16-18 year olds whose current status is “Not Known”
- Percentage of young people with learning and other disabilities in Employment, Education and Training (EET)
- Percentage of 19 year old care leavers in EET
- Percentage of teenage mothers (16-19) in EET Percentage of Young Offenders in EET at point of closure of Youth Offending Service intervention
- Percentage of young people (16-18) who are in Further Education, Government-funded training or employment with training.
For further information, please contact Andy Swain, Marketing and Information Manager, on 0161 621 9321
