- Area:
- UK-wide
- Programme:
- Millennium Now
- Release date:
- 2 4 2013
Dave Fishwick, minibus millionaire and Bank of Dave star, is attempting to tackle youth unemployment by re-inventing the job centre as part of a Channel 4 series that could see £2 million of lottery money invested in the scheme.
Dave has teamed up with youth charity The Foyer Federation to trial an experimental ‘pop up’ job centre, designed and run by young people for young people. The Foyer Federation have devised a project where, instead of the unemployed going to job centres, employers go to them in pop-up talent shops in deprived communities, from shopping arcades to street corners.
The aim is to inspire unemployed young people and secure work placements with employers who would normally not consider hiring them.
What the young people involved don’t know is that they are secretly being assessed by the Big Lottery Fund and if they are successful, they will help secure £2 million for the Foyer Federation to establish their project in London, South Wales and the West Midlands
The project features in the third episode of the brand new TV series, The Secret Millions and airs at 8pm on Sunday 7 April. The series sees the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) team up with Channel 4 to highlight radical ideas for tackling some of Britain’s big issues. The projects are secretly assessed by BIG and if successful they can turn their ideas into reality with a share of The Secret Millions £10 million funding pot, the largest amount ever given out on a Channel 4 series.
Peter Wanless, Chief Executive of the Big Lottery Fund was part of the secret assessment filming. He said: “It was great to see a project in action, ahead of deciding whether or not it was worthy of further investment. Tackling youth unemployment is important and complex and a lot had to come together at pace if the Foyer Federation were to make a success of their proposal. People will have to tune in to find out how things worked out for the young people of Harlow.'
Jane Slowey, Chief Executive of the Foyer Federation, said: ‘‘We are delighted to have been involved in this ground breaking new partnership between the Big Lottery Fund and Channel 4. The series has given us the opportunity to demonstrate how bold thinking and a radical new approach can create a different conversation between young people and employers, which develops and promotes their talents for the world of work.’’
Channel 4’s Documentaries Commissioning Editor, Emma Cooper, said: “It has been fantastic to watch Channel 4 talent get behind these amazing causes. In such austere times these projects are making a real difference to people in the most far-reaching ways. We are proud to have been involved and this series highlights just how important it is to support ideas for successful, sustainable and social enterprises.”
Over the series, five projects will work with an enthusiastic and experienced team of Channel 4 experts – Gok Wan, Katie Piper, Jimmy Doherty, Dave Fishwick and George Clarke. www.channel4.com/secretmillions
The 5 x 60m series is produced by RDF Television (a Zodiak Media company) and Twenty Twenty (a Shed Media company). The executive producers are Tayte Simpson (RDF Television) and Meredith Chambers (Twenty Twenty).
Channel 4 for The Secret Millions: Cécile Quinney: 020 7306 1095 or cquinney@channel4.co.uk
Foyer Federation: Joel Attar 020 3116 6931 or joel@foyer.net
Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours media contact: 07867 500 572
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Ask BIG a question here: https://ask.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Follow BIG on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BigLotteryFund #BIGlf
Find BIG on facebook: www.facebook.com/BigLotteryFund
Notes to Editors
About the £10 million from the Big Lottery Fund
As part of the Big Lottery Fund making the £10 million available, the public was given a say on which issues they wanted to see funded. Launching a call-out in 2011, Channel 4 and the Big Lottery Fund asked people how they would spend £10 million of Lottery money in the current climate – via channel4.com/thebigdecision and commissioning a UK-wide Ipsos-Mori Poll of 2000 people. The results helped the Big Lottery Fund identify five charities who had devised exciting and innovative projects.
About the Big Lottery Fund (BIG)
• The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
• BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK. Since its inception in 2004 BIG has awarded close to £6bn.
• The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £29 billion has now been raised and more than 383,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
This is the first time BIG has asked the public to help design and develop a grant programme from choosing the programme themes to the types of projects and beneficiaries they want funded.
About the Foyer Federation:
The Foyer Federation is a not-for-profit organisation that helps to transform the circumstances and open the talents of young people who have faced barriers in their lives. Since 1992, it has worked with young people to create new approaches developing the skills and resources they need to thrive.
Our ground breaking campaigns and initiatives are led through a network of 120 accredited learning and accommodation centres known as ‘Foyers’. These Foyers provide up to 10,000 16-25 year olds per year with mutually agreed, tailor-made programmes which give the young people access to housing, learning, personal development, training and employment opportunities.
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