Ella Jenkinson: "The shifting of the narrative from despair to hope and self-belief is not something that you get to see very often in life." Picture: Dorset Biz News.
Published: June 6, 2023 | Updated: 8th June 2023
Ella Jenkinson describes her job transforming the lives of young people as nothing short of a privilege.
And while it has its challenges the ups far outweigh the downs.
“I love it,” says Ella, Centre Manager of Spear Bournemouth.
“It’s really hard at times but the shifting of the narrative from despair to hope and self-belief is not something that you get to see very often in life.”
The Spear employability programme is an initiative of the charity, Resurgo.
Spear Bournemouth was launched in 2021 and is curently one of 13 centres in the UK.
It offers free intensive six-week programmes to 16 to 24 year olds who are not in education, employment or training, often referred to by the acronym NEET.
Many of the young people have at least one barrier that prevents them from getting into work or education.
Ella, 25, said: “It could be anything from a criminal record to having lived in care, rough sleeping or sofa surfing, parents involved in crime or pregnancy.
“Job Centres account for about 40 per cent of referrals but also BCP Council and the Probation Service.”
Six programmes for up to 15 people are held each year at Lovechurch@St Swithun’s in Gervis Road, Bournemouth, and include mock interviews and CV skills.
Crucially they’re followed by a year of personalised support with weekly drop-in sessions and one-to-one coaching.
The success rate is impressive.
Ella, who is assisted by Sam Rigden, Graduate Coach, pictured right, said: “We’ve had over 100 people since March 2021 and 75 per cent have ended up in work or education.
“A lot of the work we do is mindset, buying them back into the idea of education.
“For others we’ve now got young people who are out-earning me in jobs.”
One particular young person stands out for Ella.
She said: “He came to us around the age of 18, was living in a caravan, been fired from a job, his Dad was in crime and he’d also been arrested with him.
“It was a messy situation but he had an incredible resilient streak.
“He got a job at McDonald’s, which was great and felt like a real success, but he wasn’t enjoying it and said he wanted to go to university.
“He had no qualifications to his name so on his year of support we went back to basics.
“We got him the support he needed, filled out some reference forms, helped him write a personal statement and he ended up going to university in Lincoln to study sports fitness.
“He’s working and studying at the same time and is living a completely different life.
“We’ve had countless examples of not just young people finding work, although that is amazing to see, but coming away and saying things like ‘I believe in myself’ or ‘I never thought I can do this.’
“It’s incredibly rewarding.”
At the end of each programme a celebration is held for the young people.
Ella, who attended Queen Elizabeth’s School in Wimborne and graduated from the University of Cambridge with a first class degree, said: “A lot of these guys have never been celebrated before.
“They each get up on stage and share their story of what they’ve experienced.
“Some of them, when they first come to us, don’t even speak for the whole time in one to ones, communicating instead through a parent or a carer.
“By the end of it they stand up and speak. To see that mindset shift is incredible.”
The Bournemouth Spear Trust is a registered charity and raises its own funds from a variety of sources including the Talbot Village Trust which has just given a £30,000 grant.
It works with other charities and not for profit organisations including the Wardrobe Foundation which has provided bespoke bundles of clothing for trainees.
The centre is particularly keen to secure corporate partners.
Ella said: “There is a whole generation of young people and a lot of them have been left behind.
“I think we’ve got a bit of a duty if we want to keep progressing society, particularly locally, to working with them.
“We’re getting them work-ready, getting them excited for their futures, building some motivation and a drive to succeed.
“We would love to partner with businesses so they can come alongside these young people whose lives have been really hard and support them, and us, in progressing their futures.”
