Prince's Trust creates 100 jobs (From Surrey Comet)

Prince's Trust creates 100 jobs

7:25am Wednesday 15th February 2012 in National News © Press Association 2011

The Prince of Wales's youth charity The Prince's Trust is to create 100 jobs for unemployed young people - who will then try to help a further 100,000 find work.

The new scheme will see youngsters who have transformed their lives with help from the trust employed as "job ambassadors" to assist other young people.

Prince Charles will visit the trust's headquarters to unveil the initiative, which is designed as a direct response to record-breaking youth unemployment levels, which hit 1.04 million last month.

Trust chief executive Martina Milburn said: "We know that long-term unemployment can be demoralising - crushing self-esteem and derailing ambition.

The young people we are employing will have lived through this. They will be able to share their own experiences with today's unemployed young people and - crucially - give them the inspiration, advice and guidance they need to find a job."

She added: "This scheme will make sure an unemployed generation does not become an unemployable one."

The initiative will launch in the West Midlands, where Wolverhampton has one of the highest youth unemployment rates. It will then be rolled out across the country, focusing on other unemployment hotspots - particularly helping the long-term unemployed.

Kirt Tabberer, 21, from Droitwich in the West Midlands, is one of the first to be employed as a job ambassador. His life was transformed when he came across The Prince's Trust Team programme - a 12-week personal development course which gives young people skills and confidence for work.

He said: "The team programme quite simply changed my life. My confidence began to grow as I realised that there were opportunities out there for me. The qualification I gained also got me a place at college. I finally started to believe that I could do something with my life.

"The Prince's Trust was a lifeline for me when I needed it and for that I will be eternally grateful."