The Prince’s Trust develops New Skills Hub in Birmingham

Leaders from business and local government met at the new Prince’s Trust Centre in Digbeth on the evening of 23 April, to build on their commitment to supporting Birmingham’s young people and providing increased access to jobs and skills.

Pictured (l to r): Brendan Cook, Head of Transformation at HSBC UK, Tamika Smith, Prince’s Trust Young Ambassador, Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, Michele Farmer, Director of Central England at The Prince’s Trust and Nick Stace, UK Chief Executive of The Prince’s Trust

Brendan Cook (Head of Transformation at HSBC UK) and Andy Street (Mayor of the West Midlands) spoke at the event which was hosted at the new Prince’s Trust Centre by Nick Stace (UK Chief Executive of youth charity The Prince’s Trust) and Michele Farmer (Director of Central England at The Prince’s Trust).

With exciting events on the horizon for Birmingham and with more businesses, like HSBC UK, moving their head offices to the city, the commitment behind the Midlands Engine is growing. Those in attendance highlighted their dedication to working together to ensure that Birmingham’s growth leads to increased opportunities for the city’s young people.

The Skills Hub event also marked the renewal of the partnership between HSBC UK and The Prince’s Trust who have worked together since 2012. The charity will now be able to dedicate further resources to supporting young people across the UK to develop their employability skills. This funding will also support The Trust to innovate and trial new ways of helping young people.

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said:

Addressing the skills challenge in the region is one of my top priorities and I am delighted that The Prince’s Trust has chosen to develop their new skills hub in Birmingham. There is much to celebrate in the region, but we still have a great deal of work to do to ensure that everyone is sharing in this success. I am pleased to work in partnership with HSBC UK and The Prince’s Trust to give all of our young people an opportunity to succeed.”

Ian Stuart, CEO of HSBC UK, said:

We are delighted to be renewing our partnership with The Prince’s Trust. The Trust’s programmes across the UK have enabled thousands of young people to re-engage with education, training or employment. We know the benefits that the skills developed through these programmes can have in the workplace later on, both for employees and employers, and are committed to investing in programmes that help young people reach their potential.”

Nick Stace, UK Chief Executive of The Prince’s Trust, said:

We are extremely grateful to HSBC UK for its renewed support of The Prince’s Trust through the ‘Developing Future Skills’ initiative, including the Skills Hub, which has already helped us to assist thousands of young people in Birmingham and across the UK, Channel Islands and Malta to live, learn and earn. The funding from HSBC UK will enable us to tackle specific employment challenges in Birmingham, allowing us to expand the delivery of our programmes and offer increasingly tailored support to local young people.”

Michele Farmer, Director of Central England at The Prince’s Trust, said:

Having recently moved into our new centre, we are passionate about it being a place where young people feel welcome and can come in to speak to our staff and learn about our programmes. Housed in the former cold store, a short walk from the Bullring Market, we hope that our space in the heart of Birmingham means that local businesses, charities and those who work with young people can visit us and become involved in our work.”

The Prince’s Trust moved to its new premises, which received funding from the Greater Birmingham & Solihull LEP, in March 2018. The centre aims to provide a safe environment in which The Trust can realise its commitment to supporting a further one million young people to realise their true potential over the next decade.

The charity runs a range of employability and enterprise programme, such as the Skills Hub designed to help boost young people’s confidence and skills at venues across the UK, and also delivers a growing number of services remotely through Prince’s Trust Online.

This year, The Prince’s Trust will support around 60,000 young people to develop the confidence and skills they need to succeed in life.

About The Prince’s Trust

Youth charity The Prince’s Trust helps young people to get their lives on track. It supports 11 to 30 year olds who are unemployed and those struggling at school and at risk of exclusion. Many of the young people helped by The Trust are in or leaving care, facing issues such as homelessness or mental health problems, or have been in trouble with the law.

The Trust’s programmes give vulnerable young people the practical and financial support needed to stabilise their lives, helping develop self-esteem and skills for work. Three in four young people supported by The Prince’s Trust move into work, education or training. The Prince of Wales’s charity has helped 870,000 young people since 1976 and supports over 100 more each day.

Further information about The Prince’s Trust is available at princes-trust.org.uk or on 0800 842 842.
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