East End kids get 'matchmaker' City job placements

18 January 2010

By Mike Brooke

SCHOOL-leavers in London’s deprived East End which has one of the highest youth unemployment levels in the country are being offered placements with top City firms.

Applications open this week for the ‘City Business Traineeship’ scheme run by the City Corporation offering all sixthformers in Tower Hamlets to join the scheme which matches candidates to paid internships.

Brokerage Citylink, which runs the scheme for the City Corporation, gives A-level pupils from City-fringe areas in placements that can span up to 13 weeks and be paid at the going rate for a graduate role.

“The Square Mile can appear an impenetrable fortress for many school-leavers,” said the City Corporation’s ‘Partnerships’ manager David Pack. “This scheme offers access to what the City has to offer to the largely-untapped resources on our doorstep. It’s a bridge into a new world for them.”

Candidates are being chosen from seven City-fringe boroughs, including Tower Hamlets and neighbouring Hackney, who are assessed according to GCSE grades and who undergo an interview and workshop process to be matched to participating firms. They can apply online through the Brokerage Citylink website.