Young people in four UK cities are benefitting from an expanded partnership that’s supporting them into work. 

Youth employment charity Spear coaches young people aged 16-24 to break down the barriers they face, get into work or study and thrive.  

Barriers include having few or no GCSEs, growing up in care or having mental health challenges. 

Property group Landsec, which runs shopping centres around the UK, has strengthened its partnership with Spear to include three new locations: Brighton, Cardiff and Clapham Junction in London. 

Under the expanded partnership, which already included Camden in London and two areas of Leeds, Landsec teams will take part in mock interviews with young people on the Spear Programme, host them on company visits and answer their questions in Q&A career panel sessions.  Centres will also work with brands in their shopping centres to identify job opportunities.

Supporting 30,000 young people

Kate Honey, Director of Social Impact at Landsec, said: “The expansion of Landsec's partnership with Spear builds on our joint success over the past 10 years and will help us achieve our target of supporting over 30,000 people from underrepresented socio-economic backgrounds towards long-term employment by 2030.

“We look forward to further engaging with our brand partners and service partners to identify even more opportunities for young people to access employment.”

Iona Ledwidge, CEO of Spear, said: “Young people have so much potential and ambition but many face barriers to employment in a particularly tough job market, with so many neither earning nor learning.  

“The need for Spear is urgent, and we’re so grateful for our partnerships with forward-thinking companies like Landsec. This partnership will enable us to empower many more young people through the Spear Programme so they can unleash their potential, step confidently into work, and thrive.”