Nearly one million young people are unemployed and are not receiving any form of education or training1. Three quarters of young adults leaving prison will reoffend within two years2 and antisocial behaviour affects millions every year3. Young people are underskilled when they enter the workforce4. and many are disengaged from school or kept indoors, protected from risk.
Whether held back by lack of opportunity, disability, poor schooling, deprivation, low expectations or a lack of confidence, many thousands of young people in the UK today are failing to achieve their potential.
How we help
Youth Charity The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award supports over 275,000 people aged 14-25 every year. Our mission is to inspire, guide and support young people in their self-development and to recognise their achievements. We aim to create a world where young people can reach their full potential, whatever their circumstances.
We support over 30,000 excluded and vulnerable5 young people every year. Our ethos is to enable every young person of every background to take part in our programme and succeed, regardless of any barriers.
Our programme enables young people to develop through personal experience, by inspiring them to spend up to two years volunteering, learning a skill, getting fit, and undertaking an expedition. The result is the world’s leading achievement award for young people, recognised by employers and universities alike. We give young people from every background the opportunity to succeed.
Our Impact
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award inspires young people to develop the skills they need for work and life. Our research shows young people achieving a Gold Award gain key employability skills: leadership (79%), decision making (78%), confidence (85%), teamworking and understanding of others (83%).
We also help young people become better citizens. 61% continue volunteering after completing the programme, 87% continue with activities they started through it and 83% gained a better understanding of the importance of the environment.
We help instil a sense of adventure and have a lasting impact on young people’s behaviour, skills and life chances.
Why we need your support
This year our Charity needs to raise £6.5m to support over 275,000 young people through their DofE programmes. We are a small and highly efficient charity with just over 100 staff and the impact of this investment is magnified many times over on the ground, through our network of 50,000 partners and volunteers right across the UK.
[1] Labour Force Survey, 16-24 year olds, 2006
[2] The Howard League for Penal Reform, 2007
[3] Home office statistical bulletin, 2006
[4] CBI education and skills survey, 2008
[5] Young offenders, unemployed young people, young carers, young people with a care background or with disabilities, lone parents, and young people who live in areas of high deprivation