Moving on Up (MoU) is a ground-breaking employment initiative which aims to improve employment outcomes for London’s young Black men aged 16-24.
There are around 80,000 young Black men in London. They have the highest unemployment rate of all young people, regardless of their qualification levels. Young Black male graduates are up to four times more likely to be unemployed than young White male graduates.
The first phase (2015-2017) focused on supporting young Black men into employment resulting in over 250 young Black men securing employment.
The current phase of MoU, which began in 2018, remains focused on supporting young Black men into employment, with greater emphasis on encouraging employers to take action and on testing a collective impact approach to improve local coordination of employment support services for young Black men.
Moving on Up won Community Partnership of the Year in the 2021 Employment Related Services Association (ERSA) awards. ERSA is the membership body for the employment support sector.
Find out more about the Moving on Up programme in the summary below.
Programme summary
Moving on Up is an employment initiative helping young Black men to find jobs and careers in London’s competitive labour market.
Indra@actionforraceequality.org.uk
About the programme
The Moving on Up initiative was developed following a 2013 Panorama programme Jobs for the Boys, when Sol Campbell reported on young Black male unemployment figures of over 50%.
In response, Trust for London and Jobcentre Plus contacted ARE to ask what could be done to address this situation. Trust for London funded ARE to carry out action research and in 2014 we published the Action Plan to Increase Employment Rates for Young Black Men.
As a result of this report, the Moving on Up programme started in 2015.
The second phase of Moving on Up began in October 2017 and runs until the end of 2022. This phase is testing new approaches to deliver better local coordination and employer engagement focused on getting more young Black men into quality jobs and careers. The Moving on Up work includes:
- Testing a Collective Impact Partnership approach to improve coordination of employment support services for young Black men in Brent and Newham
- Engaging employers via Employers Champions Groups to use the Inclusive Employers Toolkit
- Establishing a group of Mou Ambassadors MoU Ambassadors – young Black men who bring their voice and experience to the design and review of the MoU programme
- Working with the GLA’s Workforce Integration Network, which is also focused on achieving good employment outcomes for young Black men in London.
- Researching young Black male unemployment rates, sharing these figures in our briefing papers and lobbying policy makers to act on this evidence
- Evaluating, testing and learning about what works to engage employers, policy makers and local delivery agencies in improving employment outcomes for young Black men
Employers
The Moving on Up providers are working London-wide to prepare young Black men for quality jobs and apprenticeships. Contact your nearest Moving on Up partner provider to discuss your recruitment needs.
Action West London supporting job-ready, unemployed young Black men from across West London into quality jobs and careers.
Making the Leap supporting young Black men with good qualifications, including university graduates, who are looking for career openings.
West Ham United Foundation supporting young Black men with personal and professional development workshops, whilst also providing employment, education and training routes into sports, finance, business and tech and community engagement.
Ambassadors
The MoU Ambassador programme started in early 2020. Project partners wanted to ensure that young Black men have a robust voice within the programme and have wider influence, by serving as Ambassadors in various public and business settings.
This influence would be by sharing their views with:
- Key MoU Stakeholders (via MoU Advisory Group, workshops)
- Employers (via Employer Champions Groups)
- Partners delivering employment outcomes (via Collective Impact Partnerships)
- Other young Black men (via social media platforms, blogs and through word of mouth)
Our Ambassadors provide their own personal perspective and lived experience as young Black men in London. Their insight helps to shape the programme and the work that our partners continue to do.
When selecting our nine Ambassadors, we sought to recruit enthusiastic and talented ‘can do’ individuals, passionate about helping to improve life opportunities and employment possibilities for young black males aged 16-24.
