Success for employability intervention scheme with over 100 North East young people supported

An initiative tackling barriers to employment and skills gaps in the North East has helped over a hundred young people since its launch last year.

CONNECT: Future Ready, led by award-winning theatre, drama and creative learning charity Mortal Fools, supported by North East Combined Authority, and funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, helped over a hundred young people during its pilot project, which ran from April 2024 to April 2025.

Following the success of the pilot, CONNECT: Future Ready is now available as a commissionable employability intervention within Mortal Fools’ young people’s programme, with the organisation currently fundraising to enable it to continue.

Designed as a person-centric needs-based programme, CONNECT: Future Ready is a targeted response to the impact that the COVID 19 pandemic and mental health crisis has had – and continues to have – on young people’s lives, particularly those who are socially isolated or not in employment.

The initiative provides intensive and intentional employability enhancing interventions for young people aged 14-30 years old, using creative practice and social sciences to unlock young people’s potential and support their employability skills development.

Unlike other employability interventions – which often focus on getting people ‘CV ready’ and take a uniform approach in encouraging them into employment – CONNECT: Future Ready harnesses the power of creativity to boost confidence, capabilities and competencies essential for the workplace in a way that works for each individual.

Over the course of the pilot, the project supported 111 young people in total, with 53 taking part across five intensive employability interventions. In addition, 31 young people completed three week-long interventions, achieving an impressive 26 Bronze Arts Awards – a Nationally recognised qualification demonstrating the development of a wide range of transferable skills.

Multiple masterclass workshops were held for young people interested in artform skills development, including specialist classes on animation, music making, set and costume design.

As part of the initiative, Mortal Fools developed effective partnerships with local schools Dukes High School and Northumberland College, and created strong referral partnerships with DWP, Groundwork North East, Kings Trust, Newcastle United Foundation, Northumberland Employability Network and Pride Action North East.

The project also held three consultation sessions inviting young people from education and community settings to share their insights and perspectives of experiencing barriers to entering employment.

Ziarlotte Gray-Johnson, Skills Development Coach (Work Placements) at Northumberland College, explained:

“Mortal Fools treat each and every young person as an individual and they really take the time to listen to them.

“Many of my students felt out of their comfort zone, but with the support of the wonderful staff they really came out of their shell and built their confidence. A great week was had by all!”

The scheme is just one of the projects led by Mortal Fools to boost employability among young people.

CONNECT: Creative Futures is a one-day commissionable session for young people aged 14-18 years old, while Young CONNECT is a version of Mortal Fools’ training and professional development programme for organisations and teams adapted specifically for young people.

Mortal Fools also delivers a range of Creative Careers Talks and takes part in Career Fairs, as well as offering a wide variety of free online employability content and learning materials.

Kiz Crosbie, CEO & Artistic Director at Mortal Fools, commented:

“Our dynamic, high impact employability programmes empower young people with the skills, confidence, and knowledge to progress on their professional development journey.

“This work supports regional and hyperlocal economic strategies by moving individuals closer to workforce readiness.

“We are excited for the next stages of our fruitful partnership with Northumberland College, expanding our portfolio of partners working in employability contexts and to securing vital funds to support the expansion of this work.”

To find out more about Mortal Fools’ employability initiatives, go to https://www.mortalfools.org.uk/employability or contact connect@mortalfools.org.uk