Equipping UK youth with twenty-first century skills: how Spark+Mettle blends old school methods with new tech tools

Abstract

There are four key issues at play that affect the opportunities for marginalised young people in the UK seeking work. The primary problem is that there are few jobs available in the first place. Secondly, these jobs require skills for which many young people, and especially the most marginalised, are not being adequately prepared. Thirdly, young people’s habits and hobbies are changing, and now mostly revolve around online communication and digital consumption. Fourthly, the UK has one of the lowest levels of social mobility in the developed world. This is exacerbated rather than allayed through its stratified education system, meaning that there are few opportunities for inter-socioeconomic connections and engagement. These factors feed into a negative loop that prevents marginalised youth from flourishing and inhibits their ability to realise their full potential.

Spark+Mettle is a UK charity that breaks that cycle by ‘hacking’ into young people’s unfulfilling habits and converting them into productive practices. It builds the twenty-first century skills—character strengths, ‘soft’ attributes and networks—needed to succeed in both work and in life, and harnesses the power of technology to deliver its services.