Official Pilot Project - First Ticket

First Ticket: where we're starting

We've spent a long time getting the Fellowship to the point where it can actually do something rather than talk about doing something. Now that we're there, the question was what to start with. There is no shortage of things we could do, and there are a lot of people we would like to help, but we can't be everything to everyone straight away and we didn't want to spread ourselves thin across a dozen good ideas and deliver none of them properly. So we picked one, and we're calling it First Ticket.

Who it's for

There are a lot of young people in this country who left school without much, who are either out of work, on agency or zero-hours contracts, or stuck in a job that goes nowhere, and who have never been given a way in to anything better. Most of them aren't lazy and most of them aren't lost causes. What they usually don't have is the one piece of paper that would get them through the gate on a building site, in a warehouse or on a maintenance crew, and the few hundred pounds it costs to get it. Employers are asking for these tickets by name. The people we're talking about can't afford them, and nobody is offering to pay.

That's the gap. It's specific, it's fixable, and it's the kind of thing a fellowship of ordinary people can fix without waiting for anyone's permission.

What we're doing about it

This autumn we're running our first two free training courses in the West Midlands, in partnership with an accredited safety training provider. The courses lead to recognised industry qualifications, the kind that sit on a card in your wallet and that a site manager will recognise on sight. They are the same courses a firm would pay to put its own staff through. For the young people on them, they're free.

The training on its own isn't the whole point, though. A certificate doesn't get anyone a job on its own, so we're building the rest around it. Everyone who comes through the course will get help with the site card that goes with it, help getting to and from the training, a session on CVs and applications with people who actually do hiring, and, most importantly, an introduction to employers and tradespeople inside the Fellowship who have said they'll give our people a fair look. We'll stay in touch with every one of them afterwards, because the point is not to hand out certificates and walk away. The point is to see them into work.

We'll be filming the courses and talking to the people who take part, before and after, so that people can see what this looks like in practice rather than take our word for it.

Why this, and why first

Part of the answer is that it's achievable. We're a young organisation with limited means, and we would rather do one thing properly and be able to show for it than announce ten things and quietly drop eight. First Ticket is our flagship pilot project. Everything we learn from it, about who turns up, what actually helps, and what gets someone from a certificate to a payslip, will shape what we do next.

The other part of the answer is that this is what the Fellowship is for. We set it up as a network of people who look after their own: families, neighbours, communities, and the young people coming up behind us who have been left to fend for themselves. Mutual aid isn't a slogan for us. It means that if someone from down the road needs a ticket to get on site, and there are people in the Fellowship who can help them get it and people who can give them a start once they have it, then that's what we do. It's a small thing. Enough small things, done properly, add up to something.

How you can be part of it

There are three ways in.

If you're a young person who's been in the situation described above, or you know one, we want to hear from you. Places on the first courses are limited and they'll go by application. You'll need to become a Fellow to take part, and the entry tier costs less than a takeaway coffee a month. We have kept it that low on purpose, and if that's still out of reach, ask us.

If you're a tradesperson, a site supervisor, someone who runs a small firm, or anyone in a position to give a bit of time or a fair interview to a young person who's just got their first ticket, join us. An hour a month of your experience is worth more to these young people than money, and being part of getting someone into work is the most direct return you'll ever get on a membership.

And if you'd like to see more of this, and can help make it happen, we'd be glad to talk to you about supporting the project.

We'll publish the film and the results as the courses run. Until then, this is where we're starting.

We will be opening up applications soon.