On Friday, May 27th, Anna Firth, Member of Parliament for Southend West, went to the NatWest Contact Centre to attend a partnerships event between Leadership Through Sport and Business(LTSB) and NatWest which aims to provide employment opportunities to young people in Southend.
Leadership Through Sport and Business is a social mobility charity that prepares and supports bright young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into meaningful roles with major firms. The event was held at the contact centre to give young people from Southend who have benefitted from the charity the opportunity to speak about their experience.
Anna spoke to young people who have found employment at NatWest through LTSB, such as Aaron who lives in Leigh. Aaron told Anna how he was previously on Universal Credit and unable to find stable employment until LTSB provided him with the opportunity to get a job at NatWest. Speaking to Anna at the event, he said: “[LTSB] is a brilliant opportunity, I think there should be more programs like it, and I think it needs to be encouraged and supported… NatWest is brilliant, they’re very supportive, they’re very helpful, they tailor the services they provide to their employees as well. They helped me through a lot and I’m very appreciative of them.”
Speaking at the event, Anna said “I was delighted to have been to this event to hear first-hand about how young people in Southend are being given fantastic opportunities to work with major companies, like NatWest. Leadership Through Sport and Business is a dedicated social mobility charity and I am thrilled that they have chosen to partner with our local NatWest to enable young people to find stable employment. They have an incredible success rate: over 80% of the young people who work with LTSB are able to secure a job as a result! I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone at LTSB and at NatWest for proving these unique opportunities for young Southenders – I’m delighted to be able to support you!”
