Solent Freeport’s £10,000 boost for Havant’s young jobseekers
Solent Freeport has donated £10,000 to a Hampshire project which helps young people into employment and training.
Link Up Youth Hub in Havant offers targeted advice to 16 to 24-year-olds from its base at the Front Lawn Community Hub in the town’s Leigh Park.
The freeport’s donation means that the service – run in partnership by the Department for Work and Pensions and Havant Borough Council – can continue at its headquarters off Somborne Drive.
Established in 2022, in its first two years of operation the service enabled more than 400 young people to access personalised support, helped more than 350 transition into education or training and assisted more than 300 into full- or part-time employment.
Brian Johnson, chair of Solent Freeport, said: “The freeport is very much at the heart of the community it serves and in which we live and work.
“It is incumbent on us as a major organisation in the Solent region to give something back to that community for the benefit of the people.
“We had no hesitation in supporting Link Up Youth Hub in Havant because of the sterling work it does in supporting our young people into work.
“Getting good advice at a young age can be crucial for young people’s career prospects and, who knows, we may soon be seeing some of them in leading roles in Solent Freeport area businesses.”
The Link Up Youth Hub is open Monday to Friday (10am to 4pm) at the distinctive round Front Lawn Community Hub – known colloquially as ‘the doughnut’ – to provide tailored pathways for young people seeking employment.
A wide range of practical support is available, including CV writing, job applications, interview attendance, finding training courses, getting back into education, confidence building and health and wellbeing.
Young people, mostly on universal credit are referred by the Jobcentre or self-refer, with as many as 180 people using the service – run by a manager and three work coaches – at any one time
Councillor Gillian Harris, Cabinet Lead for Regeneration and Communities, said: “We are so grateful for Solent Freeport’s generous donation which means we can maintain our operations in a place easily accessible by the people who need us most.
“Research carried out in conjunction with the University of Portsmouth and the Health Foundation is showing the excellent socio-economic impacts of the Link Up Youth Hub, particularly across finance, crime and health.
“In purely monetary terms, an investment in the programme of £140,000 in just one year can produce a return on investment of £5.8 million and £700,000 across five years would realise a benefit of £26 million.
“Most important, however, are our young people themselves who are getting support in preparing for interviews and securing the skills and qualifications they need. We are there for them, helping to build confidence in themselves and achieve better things, becoming a happier, healthier people.”