Cornish charity Backs Young Britain

As part of Backing Young Britain, Cornish charity Pentreath is helping young people gain valuable work experience and skills to prepare them for future employment and also benefit the local community.

Unemployed Matthew Brown, 22, met Pentreath, at a regional employment event for young people looking to find work. Through the Future Jobs Fund programme, Pentreath employed Matthew on a short term contract as a Webmaster, managing the design of a new website.

“It seemed perfect when I received details of the job. I feel like I’m involved in a really important project. My biggest hope is to have my contract renewed when it comes to an end, but even if not, I’ll have some great experience to put on my CV,” said Matthew.

Paul Reeve, project co-ordinator at Pentreath, said: “Matthew has a pivotal role in this project. It’s ideally suited to the skill set of a young person who has lived their life online. Matthew had been involved in managing gaming forums and web pages online as a hobby, but this has taken his natural interest and skills in computers and turned them into a saleable CV.”

Talking about the benefits of employing a young person, Paul said: “Taking on a young person has worked really well. It has given us a new perspective from a digital native and brought fresh enthusiasm into the company. My advice to other employers is to go for it. Even if you take on a young person for the short term, it’s an injection of new skills and enthusiasm which most companies will die without.”