Charity to inspire teenagers in Portsmouth to succeed thanks to £87,000 cash boost

EBP South, a charity based at 1000 Lakeside, North Harbour, has secured an £87,000 investment from The Careers & Enterprise Company to support young people in the Solent region.

The money will help EBP South scale up its employer mentoring programme, which works with students who are about to start their GCSEs but are at risk of disengaging and dropping out of school.

Jessica Memery, programme manager at EBP South, said: ‘It’s really exciting and good for the city.

‘It’s all about inward investment and making sure our kids are getting the grades they need to succeed.’

She said the cash would enable them to expand the scheme to help 100 teenagers.

The charity has already been working with six schools, but it hopes to increase this number to 30.

It is due to start three new programmes – with Trafalgar School in Hilsea, Miltoncross Academy in Milton and Chamberlayne College in Southampton – in January.

In total, the government-backed Careers & Enterprise Company will distribute funding worth more than £3.5m to 39 mentoring organisations across the country, targeting almost 20,000 pupils.

Claudia Harris, CEO of the Careers & Enterprise Company, said: ‘Too many young people are at risk of not achieving their full potential.

‘This can have a lasting impact on their future and career later in life.

‘Employer mentoring is a powerful way to address this issue by helping young people get inspired about the world of work.

‘Our fund will unlock this inspiration by scaling up proven mentoring programmes to help boost social mobility and give young people life-changing experiences.

‘I’d encourage anyone who wants to get involved in mentoring to step forward and make a real difference to the lives of young people in their community.’

EBP South is looking for more mentors to give an hour a week to help the scheme.

Jessica said: ‘It’s about your skills and quality as a human being.

‘You need the time, patience and ability to understand that being a teenager is quite tough.

‘Our mentors are quite diverse, from 21 up to 65. They can be anything from a managing director to somebody who has turned their life around.

‘It is about wanting to give something back to help a young person. It is people investing in their community and in their future.’

For more go to careersandenterprise.co.uk/mentoring