I am Lorena, I came to the United Kingdom when I was only 17 years old. I have started working at a very early age, and I watched my siblings do the same. Like myself, the majority of the younger population are having to work to just have some disposable income where parents are not able to provide such support. Students find part-time jobs to cover the daily expenses for commuting. Graduates lacking industry-specific experience are receiving endless rejections from employers. Students are struggling to secure short-term contracts to cover academic holidays. Or maybe sometimes we are led to study academia over vocational subjects, where the employment finding struggle stems from the lack of engagement with the area of interest.
United Kingdom Statistics 2016 and Local Monkey Survey show that young people are eager to be independent whilst learning new things. Willing to spend time volunteering, training, exploring instead of having a passive approach to their futures. This wanting to change the future comes from a place of discomfort. This youthful energy needs fuel and direction. This is why I launched the Little Local Jobs project. I am extremely grateful to be in receipt of help from Boston College social enterprise funding. With this support I was able to establish a website and kickstart the project through a social media following.
Maternal duties came first, meaning the project was unfortunately put on hold. During this time, I have kept a close eye on the demand growing for part-time work. People aged 16-25 years old have been hit the most by the devastation caused by the pandemic in the employment statistics.
Little Local Jobs is offering help to find part-time work, apprenticeships, traineeships, day jobs and one-offs for you. Little Local Jobs can help you build an income before annual holidays or provide full-time positions to suit those not interested in further education.
We all know at least one person who suffered a redundancy during 2020. The list of reasons to bring this platform to life and uplift the health of local communities is endless.
The idea is to let the younger generation have the freedom to choose from little local jobs, instead of fighting for office admin jobs they will not sustain. This works both ways, as the local business or individuals in high demand are able to grow to benefit the community.
These are unprecedented times but we are stronger, together. This strength in small communities accumulate and help rebuild the health of the country for the generations to come.