Snapshot%20of%20Focus%20Groups%20with%20Young%20People

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• Snapshot of Focus Groups with Young People
• Not in Employment, Education or Training
• Presented byAlan Hayes

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• Aim
• To capture Young Peoples experience of being in
  NEET category, including causes recommendations.

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Who's included?

• Six Focus Groups from Greater Dublin Cork
• Informal discussion on their experiences,
  thoughts, feelings related to Employment,
  Education Training
• Over 30 young people not currently in Education,
  Employment, Training
• Average of 4 participants per focus group.
  Another 3/4 focus groups remaining
• 80 Male 20 Female. Ages 15 23 (60 are 18)

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What they said...

• Social Welfare
• Overall negative sentiment, lack of empathy
  understanding by staff. Feeling of being 'Looked
  down' upon.
• 'Treating it like it's their own money'
• Experiences of being 'bounced around' section to
  section.
• Experience of injuring yourself and being cut to
  14.78 per week because not available to work.

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Eduction

• Lack of availability.See what you want but it's
  full,must wait, meanwhile welfare ask why your
  not doing anything.
• Expelled or opting out, difficulty getting in
  elsewhere
• Mixed experiences in other education centres
  Sitting in the kitchen all day, nobody wants to
  teach you
• Done level 4 but can't do level 5 for 18 months

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Scenario Youth Guarantee

• 22 year old male undertakes a course as a Bar
  Technician/Mixologist. Gets grant of 250 which
  he matches to study Level 1. Wants to do Level 2,
  which employers expect,but costs 2000 and cannot
  find grant.An effective Youth Guarantee could
  prevent this by planning the path with the client
  from the start, anticipating road blocks.

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Family

• I want to contribute to housekeeping and I do,
  but it's a big chunk out of a small pot each
  week...
• ...puts pressure on them, having to borrow money
  to survive
• ...people gambling, hoping to get a few quid
  extra. Leads to problems... drinking and drugs
• Being at home all the time causes arguments,
  nowhere to go, if I do, get hassled from
  Gardai...

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If YOU were Minister for Magic wands?

• Provide relevant training for a job, not just to
  get you out of the welfare
• Entrepreneurship training with a can do attitude.
• Give males with children something extra. Have a
  child, don't live together but with 100 PW it
  makes it extremely hard to do anything with the
  child when I have them
• Guaranteed job or other course when you finish
  one, don't just send you back on the labour

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Why the Youth Service?

• Feel listened to
• Help us find jobs and prepare for interviews
• It's something to do when there is nothing to do
• Guarantee you its kept some of us out of prison
• Cold nights, nowhere to go, have to get out of
  the house, call in for a cup of tea
• ...find out things that you don't in school

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The Future

• Want to have a trade that people need
• Be doing something where I don't have to sit
  still, that's not me
• That government services understand you and don't
  just treat you like a number
• To change how people with lots of money never
  lose and working class have it hard from birth
• People are treated the same

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Thank You

• Webwww.AlanHayes.ie
• Email
• Hello_at_AlanHayes.ie