The Good Youth Employment Charter
Thank you for showing an interest in The Good Youth Employment Charter. By signing the charter you are agreeing to work towards a set of principles and to being recognised as a Youth Friendly Employer.
Sign the Good Youth Employment Charter to demonstrate commitment to youth employment
What is it?
The Good Youth Employment Charter was co-created with young people and a range of partners by Youth Employment UK in 2012. The Charter was updated by the Youth Employment Group in 2020 in response to rising youth unemployment.
Make a difference
Organisations are encouraged to work to the Principles of Good Youth Employment and can sign up free of charge to the Youth Friendly Employer Badge & be listed on the Youth Friendly Employer Database to be recognised for their commitment to the 5 principles.
Sign the Charter
When you sign up to the Good Youth Employment Charter below, you will be given access to further support and guidance and access the partner Toolkit. You will also be able to download the Youth Friendly Employer Badge and update your listing on the Youth Friendly Employer Database.
What are the 5 core principles of the Good Youth Employment Charter?
Make this the year in which your organisation is held up as a worthy example of how to provide quality opportunities for young people to gain the skills and experiences they need. In signing the Charter, you are taking a proactive step to ensure your organisation is recognised and appreciated by young people for your willingness to recruit and develop young people based on their ability, talent and potential regardless of their background or experience.
Sign the Good Youth Employment Charter today.
When you sign up to the Good Youth Employment Charter you will be given access to further support and guidance and access the partner Toolkit. You will also be able to download the Youth Friendly Employer Badge and update your listing on the Youth Friendly Employer Database.
What is the Charter?
The Good Youth Employment Charter has been developed in collaboration with a range of youth employment experts and young people including The Youth Employment Group.
It aims to provide a framework to support, inspire and recognise all those employers who are committed to providing good quality opportunities to young people.
How to apply
Sign up to the Good Youth Employment Charter
Once you have completed the form below, you will receive an email login which will allow you to download the charter and access supporting documents to help you celebrate, champion and develop your good youth employment practice.
The principles of Good Youth Employment
- Creating opportunity
- Recognising talent
- Fair employment
- Developing people
- Youth voice
Organisations signing the charter show young people that they are working towards being more youth friendly.
FAQs
Click on any question below to see the answer.
No. Signing the Charter does not carry any requirements. There are no strings attached.
You do not have to provide evidence of adhering to the core principles of good youth employment. You do not have to meet any requirements.
Consider signing the Charter to be a means of demonstrating your organisation's commitment to good youth employment, and a pledge to maintain an awareness of what good youth employment looks like in your organisation.
We do recommend that, on signing the Charter, you download the Good Youth Employment Toolkit. Doing so is not a requirement. It is simply a guide to help you reflect on the current provision of youth employment and opportunities in your organisation.
Yes. You can post vacancies on our site for FREE.
When you sign the Charter, you can post early career opportunities of any kind on our #CreateYourFuture database. Careers events, apprenticeships, graduate schemes, paid work placements and internships... whatever opportunities you have for young people that relate to work or training, you are welcome to post.
Click here to find out more about posting #CreateYourFuture opportunities.
No. You do not have to feature the Good Youth Employer badge.
We recognise that websites may be subject to technical limitations. We also recognise that organisations may be subject to time/energy restrictions - recruitment is busy work!
Young people ARE looking out for the Youth Friendly Employer badge, and view it as a sign of your commitment to good youth employment.
If you wish, you are very welcome to host the badge on early career vacancies on your own site, should you choose to, once you have signed the Charter. There is, however, no requirement to do so.
Only organisations who have signed the Good Youth Employment Charter are permitted to host the badge on their website and/or early career vacancies.
The Good Youth Employment Charter recognises the importance of the following principles:
Creating opportunity – Provide opportunities for young people to gain the skills and experiences they need, through meaningful and good quality experiences of the world of work that raise their aspirations, skills and personal networks.
Recognising Talent – Recruit young people based on their ability, talent and potential, recognising they may have limited experience. Ensure young people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority groups, as well as those young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds or those with additional needs or barriers are not unfairly excluded.
Fair Employment – Provide good quality employment opportunities for young people, such as apprenticeships, graduate roles, entry level jobs and supported internships. Offer fair and safe opportunities and rewards in accordance with the highest industry standards.
Developing People – Promote the development of all young people through on and off the job training and support so they are motivated to take ownership and responsibility for their careers, and they are equipped to progress.
Youth Voice – Listen to young people. Actively provide opportunities for their voice to be heard within a community or organisation.
How the charter helps…
Organisations:
Through this toolkit you will be able to learn more about the principles of good youth employment and understand how and if your organisation is already working to them
Guidance
Each principle is underpinned with guidelines, specific examples and support, as well as a list of charitable organisations who endorse these principles and can offer specialist help.
The charter compliments other national best practices around the engagement and employment of young people from protected groups and can complement your wider commitments to good employment.
Help and support
This toolkit links to expert organisations who can support you to develop your practice and engage with young people directly through their extensive networks.
Recognition and reach
Organisations that wish to be recognised for committing to the Good Youth Employment Charter can choose to sign up for the Youth Friendly Employer Badge (FOC) and also choose to be listed on the national Youth Friendly Database connecting to thousands of young people.
Young people
In a cluttered and confusing landscape young people will be able to search and explore organisations committed to providing quality opportunities and learn more about the opportunities that exist for them.
Why do we need a Good Youth Employment Charter?
The impact of COVID-19 on youth unemployment
Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, there were over 760,000 young people not in education or employment in the UK. And young people who experienced disadvantage such as low socio-economic backgrounds, disabilities or those from Black, Asian and ethnic minority groups who were most likely to be outside of learning or earning opportunities, or to be underemployed in often low-paid or insecure work.
Young people as a group are more likely to be affected by any economic downturn, there is a real risk that youth unemployment could rise to 2 million young people not in education, employment or training, a devastating consequence of Covid-19.
Young people want to work
Young people are committed and hardworking, with skills, experiences and perspectives that can add value to the business community.
Businesses who employ young people regularly report on the positive difference young employees can make and how important they are to their own future success.
Equal access to employers, work experience and the world of work:
In order to be able to move into good quality employment young people need the opportunities to build their skills and experiences. They need to explore the world of work by having conversations with employers, taster days, work experience and mentoring (to name just a few) to build their knowledge and confidence.
Evidence from the Education and Employers Charity suggests that where a young person experiences 4 or more quality encounters with employers they will be five times less likely to become NEET (not in education, employment or training) than their peers. The 2020 Youth Voice Census found that not all young people have the same access to information, work experience and networks and not all opportunities are equal.
