How Connect with Work is Transforming Young Lives

“I had a traumatic family life when I was growing up,” Jae Foster told Jes Staley, Group Chief Executive of Barclays, in a boardroom at the bank’s headquarters in Canary Wharf. “As a child, I was often exposed to domestic violence.”

Jae, 27, was one of four young people who have had difficult experiences but are now working thanks to Barclays’ new Connect with Work scheme – an innovative employability programme.

The young people were invited to share their stories with Staley, who then asked questions about how they overcame their circumstances. Jae described how the problems she experienced at home meant that she missed out on school, and how she later ended up addicted to drugs and alcohol.

After getting clean with the help of her mother, she became scared to leave the house. “I didn’t leave the house for three years,” she explained. “I’ve suffered with mental health problems all my life and I became suicidal.”

Everything changed when her community mental health team put her in touch with The Prince’s Trust, a charity that supports disadvantaged young people and is one of Barclays’ partners in Connect with Work, together with the social business Catch22, which works to build resilience and aspiration in people facing difficult circumstances.

What makes Connect with Work different is that it matches those individuals with job openings at Barclays’ corporate clients, who may be struggling to find the right candidates through traditional routes.