Street League

Tackling poverty and youth employment through sport

Sport and fitness are powerful ways to build confidence, break down barriers and develop life skills. Street League is tapping into this resource to support young people from some of the UK’s most disadvantaged communities.

We’ve awarded a grant of £176,000 to fund their Sport and Employability Academy programmes for two years. Across London, 16- to 24-year-olds will gain life and employability skills, accredited qualifications and the confidence to make the life-changing transition into work, study or training. To make sure the young people who most need the support are involved in the programme, Street League works closely with local partners across Southwark. This includes job centres, educational services, probation services and hostels.

Street League has been supporting unemployed young people through their programmes across the UK since 2011.
The unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds is 13.2% – more than triple those aged 25 to 64.
To help change this, Street League will run 8 Sport and Employability Academy programmes in Southwark over two years. Each programme lasts 10 weeks. In total, 140 young people will take part.

Breaking down barriers

What does a day at the Sport and Employability Academy look like? It might start with fun and engaging workshops, with sessions on communication skills, teamwork, problem-solving, CV writing, job searching and interview skills. Next, participants get physically active with sports and fitness sessions that reinforce the skills learnt in the classroom.

Each young person has regular one-to-one sessions with a mentor. Together, they’ll focus on aspirations and put together a learning plan to identify any barriers. That might be mental health issues, a lack of work experience or a criminal record. Then, they’ll work out what they can do to overcome these barriers and move forward. Participants will also have the opportunity to gain accredited qualifications in employability, customer service, wellbeing and sport.