Ironically, the Young Person’s Guarantee, launched by the Department for Work and Pensions, which means that a young person who is unemployed for six months as a result of the recession will be guaranteed the offer of a job, training or work experience, only applies to 18-24 year olds, and Devian is 25 next month.

He is positive about the scheme, though, although wary of the caveat that it only applies to those who have been unemployed for six months.  “It’s a shame it couldn’t be extended to older people”, he said.  “It’s making a very big assumption about when the recession actually started.”

As someone with a very strong work ethic, Devian has been surprised at the dramatic effect being unemployed has had on him.  “The maximum I have never had a job for is a month,” he says.   “I have had to let it sink in.”  He has also had a rude awakening about benefits.  “I am only just figuring out now that that housing benefit is not a perfect solution. There is a lot of fighting to get what you are supposed to receive.”

Like a lot of young people, Devian had taken out a loan to get him started as he needed to furnish a new flat.   “When I was made redundant I had the loan hanging over my head.  Luckily I had done the payment protection scheme, but when you contact the loan company you have to ring an 0845 number, which is not cheap on a mobile.”  He has found the Consumer Credit Counselling service helpful but said guidance for young people in his position is not easy to find. 

“It seems like a lot of people have been set back by going to university,” Devian says.  “I did four years and I have got a student loan of about £16,000.  None of what I am doing is paying that off.   The course which I have done has provided me with the right knowledge and the vocabulary, but when I am applying for jobs I am being turned down because I don’t have the experience.  How can I get experience when no-one will give me the chance?  It seems to me I would have been better if I had come out of sixth form and gone straight into a job.  At least they would have sent me away for training which I wouldn’t have had to pay for. “ 



Young people will get the chance to join 300 other young leaders at a summer residential, take action with 30 other young leaders in their local area and become part of a national movement of young leaders. You can see photos from last year's residential here.

This years Fellows are currently developing their leadership skills and making fantastic positive changes in the local community.
Tyne and Wear Fellow: I thought it was a fantastic opportunity, for that it gave me a great learning curve into society, how it is diversifying, as well as learning about  team work and leadership
East London Fellow: Since the Fellowship, I have been buzzing about come of the things that I could do with my group to make our campaign a reality as soon as possible.

To find out more about the Fellowship and details of how to apply download our registration form.

The Youth of Today programme is conducting a survey of 13-25 year olds around the world to better understand how young people use information and communication technologies (ICTs). We are conducting the survey as part of our work on a publication on the subject (coming March 2010). Participation is very important and will influence the recommendations we make to educators, organisations and policymakers. It should take about 10 minutes to complete.

 The Youth of Today (www.theyouthoftoday.org) is a two-year project that aims to increase the quality, quantity and diversity of opportunities for young people as leaders of change in their communities. The project is being led by a consortium of seven organisations including the British Youth Council, the Citizenship Foundation, Changemakers, the National Youth Agency, the Prince’s Trust, the UK Youth Parliament and the Young Foundation. It is funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families and Communities and Local Government.

The Youth of Today, a DCSF-funded body, has shortlisted the group for bringing together young people from different backgrounds in Birmingham. The streetdancers aim to empower young people through dance, giving them self-esteem and motivation. They perform and teach in schools, colleges, universities, youth centres and prisons.

A young woman called Toffee set the group up when she was 17 and it has been growing for 10 years now. Toffee now intends to pass on the leadership baton to another young person  - causing a ripple effect of youth leadership through the generations.

Toffee says it's not just about creating brilliant dancers - it's about running a business and creating young entrepreneurs to continue her work.

The Youth of Today will fund training for new Tru Streetdance members.  Tru StreetDance is in the final six out of 107 applicants for the funding.

The Youth of Today, of which Changemakers is proud to be a partner of, has some new research to support the launch. Visit: www.theyouthoftoday.org for more info.

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The range of videos give you a flavour of what the vinvolved East London team has got up to since the programme began, (please note that we are only half way into the programme when this was created)! Listen to young people from across East London talk about their journeys through volunteering and see for yourself the positive impact they have made. A total of 25 young people aged 16-25 were interviewed about their volunteering across 10 boroughs of London, the videos, a range of case studies and short documentaries document their experiences.