Youth charity The Prince’s Trust helps young people to develop the confidence and skills they need to get their lives on track. It supports 11-30 year olds who are unemployed and those struggling at school or 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 gives young people the practical and financial support they need to achieve their goals in life, through a range of different programmes delivered in venues across the country as well as online.
The Trust’s Enterprise programme helps unemployed young people aged 18 to 30 with support and funding to work out if their business ideas are viable and whether self-employment is right for them. Available face to face or through Prince's Trust Online, it's now easier than ever before to become your own boss.
The online platform launched earlier this year, initially with a digital version of the Enterprise programme, and more content is being added all the time. The Enterprise section includes e-learning modules covering everything from business plans to finance and, uniquely, combines online learning with a full e-mentoring service. All young people on the platform receive the ongoing support of a dedicated e-mentor, allowing The Trust to replicate the quality of its face-to-face programmes, ensuring the same positive outcomes for the young people involved.
With support from The Trust, young people on the Enterprise programme are turning their hand to everything from gardening and hairdressing to plumbing and beauty therapy. For many, the transformation from unemployed to entrepreneur is life changing; giving them the skills, confidence and motivation that being out of work can take away.
While the Enterprise programme is very popular, The Prince’s Trust also offers a range of other courses that help young people to move into employment. The charity’s Team programme, for example, is geared towards helping 16 to 25 year olds to develop the confidence and skills they need for work. This 12-week personal development course offers work experience, qualifications, practical skills and the opportunity to run community projects and take part in a residential week.
A range of other Prince’s Trust courses are available across the UK, including the Fairbridge programme, which offers a mix of group activities and one-to-one support to help young people move forward with their lives.
To find out what courses are running in your area, simply type your location into the course finder on The Prince’s Trust website or give us a call for free on 0800 842 842. If you can’t attend in person because of where you live, or your personal circumstances, you might want to take a look at the online platform to find out about the opportunities offered there instead.
Case study: Sarah Klauber
“The Prince’s Trust gave me a second chance. A family tragedy left me feeling lost and angry and it was soon after that I started to struggle at school. I was constantly being bullied by other students and my attendance dropped to 40 per cent. Eventually, I couldn’t face the thought of going to school anymore and gave up on going to classes altogether.