OREANDA-NEWS. Seventeen young adults recently visited BNY Mellon’s London office to learn about a variety of business skills from employee volunteers.

The event on June 10th is a core part of the Future Links programme, created by British charity Community Links and BNY Mellon in 2009 to support NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) young adults. Community Links is an innovative east London charity which runs a wide range of community projects for over 16,000 people every year.

The programme is designed to provide its participants with the support and necessary skills, including work-related accreditations, that will help them to find suitable, positive destinations as they make the transition into adulthood.  

The business day featured a number of sessions delivered by BNY Mellon volunteers, which aimed to increase the employability of the young adults. Topics such as interview, communication and presentation skills were all on the agenda and the day was designed to be as interactive as possible to really engage and inspire the young adults.

Over 250 young people have participated in the Future Links programme since it began.

“Unemployment levels in London are falling, but there are still too many young people out of work,” said Geraldine Blake, Chief Executive of Community Links.  

“Before joining the Future Links programme, these young people were really struggling to find work – they were desperate to get a job but found it difficult to get noticed by employers, for a number reasons, whether it was a lack of awareness on how to handle an interview, lack of work experience or poor educational qualifications. It’s truly inspiring to see the young adults who go through the programme feel so much more empowered and positive about their future.”

BNY Mellon is committed to supporting young people in the community to reach their full potential, and leveraging the skills of our employees is a key ingredient to the success of programmes like Future Links.