The Lord Mayor's Appeal to help tackle London’s NEET challenge

Following a strategic review this year and the appointment of a new Chief Executive in March, the Trustees of The Lord Mayor's Appeal have taken the decision to focus the Appeal exclusively on supporting young people in London who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) for at least the next 3 years.

The new strategy marks the beginning of a new chapter for The Lord Mayor's Appeal. Since its establishment in 2012, the charity has supported organisations tackling a wide range of important issues that individual Lord Mayors have been passionate about, including homelessness, mental health and numeracy.  

Now, the Appeal will focus on one big issue for several years. We want toharness the Lady/Lord Mayor's unique convening power to galvanise the City community into collective action that helps young people in London gain the confidence, knowledge, skills and real-world experience they need to obtain meaningful employment and training. 

The Lord Mayor's Appeal will identify and support a portfolio of organisations tackling different aspects of the NEET challenge to work in partnership with, connecting the young people those charities support with businesses and livery companiesto access the opportunities they offer across the City.  

The new strategy will focus on activities that: 

The Appeal also intends to maximise the impact of what it is doing by bringing together other philanthropic organisations with the Appeal’s network of business and livery company supporters to scale up successful initiatives and share what is learned collectively with policymakers, so that the City of London is playing its part to tackle the NEET challenge. 

Sir Edward Braham, Chair of Trustees of The Lord Mayor's Appeal, says: 

"The City of London has a proud tradition of leadership, partnership and philanthropy. Through the Lady/Lord Mayor's unique convening power, we have an opportunity to pull the City's businesses, livery companies and charitable organisations behind a shared ambition: creating more pathways into training and employment for young people.This strategy is an invitation to the whole City community to join us. By combining our expertise, networks and resources, we can help address the UK's growing skills challenge, strengthen the future workforce and ensure more young people can contribute to—and benefit from—the economic success of London and the wider UK." 

The Rt Hon Lady Mayor of London, Dame Susan Langley, says:  

“Every day as Lady Mayor I meet people from businesses and livery companies who are passionate about providing opportunities and a key theme of my year has been to connect them to young people so that those young people can access all that the City has to offer. I’m delighted that the Appeal will be focusing on the NEET problem in London in the coming years as our city cannot truly flourish unless the next generation are given the support they need to succeed. 

David Johnston OBE, Chief Executive of The Lord Mayor's Appeal, says: 

"The Lord Mayor's Appeal has always sought to bring people together to address some of society's most pressing challenges. There is no more pressing issue than the number of young people not in education, employment or training, which can have a long-term scarring effect on both them and the country as a whole. By working with charities, businesses, livery companies and other partners, we can help equip young people in London with the knowledge, skills and real-world experience they need to access meaningful employment.”