Mosaic has joined forces with youth organisation The Challenge to launch “Inspiring Youth”, a powerful new programme aimed at encouraging youth engagement in the communities around Heathrow Airport.

The initiative has been backed by an initial grant of £250,000 provided by the Heathrow Community Fund which focuses on projects linked to education and youth development amongst other things.

The contribution from the Heathrow Fund will foster links between 3,000 young people and local voluntary organisations, community groups, as well as businesses and future employers. Through “Inspiring Youth,” The Challenge and Mosaic will deliver a series of programmes for local youth aimed at enhancing employment opportunities and developing the skill sets of young people in the area.

Caroline Nicholls, Director of Heathrow Community Fund commented:

“Investing in local young people and providing them with essential skills to build their careers is already an essential part of the way Heathrow contributes back to the communities around our airport. We hope that the investment in ‘Inspiring Youth’ by Heathrow Community Fund will build on that to encourage a new generation of active, socially responsible and successful residents in our local communities.”

“Inspiring Youth” will be available to young people living in Ealing, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Slough and Spelthorne. The activities of the programme will be located across these boroughs as well as in Richmond, Runnymede, South Bucks and Windsor and Maidenhead.

Jonathan Freeman, Mosaic’s Managing Director, added:

“We are delighted to be working with Heathrow under the ‘Inspiring Youth’ initiative to deliver our award-winning mentoring programmes to young people in the surrounding areas. Our programmes improve the confidence, self-efficacy and employability of the young people we work with, using volunteer mentors from a variety of business backgrounds often from the local community itself. Our work shows the amazing impact possible through engaging local businesses and business leaders, and we call on those entities in around Heathrow to get involved!”

The programme will be broken into five distinct categories:

• HeadStart London – brokered volunteering opportunities for young people with local charities, leading to a guaranteed job interview and part time or seasonal work
• The Apax-Mosaic Enterprise Challenge – a national competition supported by leading businesses designed to promote entrepreneurship – to be introduced in 12 secondary schools
• Action Teams – encouraging young people to plan and lead on social action campaigns in collaboration with the community
• Peer Support – creating development opportunities for graduates from past National Citizen Service Programmes to volunteer on NCS programmes in the future
• Mentoring – A series of high-quality mentoring programmes in local primary and secondary schools, to link young people with inspirational volunteer role models from diverse professional backgrounds

Oliver Lee, The Challenge’s CEO added:

“The Challenge is pleased to be involved in the Inspiring Youth Programme. Substantial support from this programme has allowed us to expand the impact of our mission into new and existing areas.”

Besides contributing to the Community Fund, Heathrow Airport also offers 300 apprenticeships across the airport directly to young people each year, a number which would be set to grow to 10,000 by 2030 should expansion at the airport take place.