The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown issues that were bubbling under the surface into sharp relief, whether that’s around the environment, education or societal structure. Many of the social problems that have been affecting communities around the UK for years have suddenly become too prevalent to ignore.

One such issue is that of the numbers of young people finding themselves out of education, employment and training. These are more commonly known as NEETs, Not in Education, Employment or Training, with numbers standing at 800,000 in the UK and set to double in the wake of the global coronavirus crisis.

The concern is that NEETs will become a lost generation; unable to find experience, they are unlikely to be able to achieve their potential. This is where a new platform Ready for Business comes in, designed to take young people on a six-month remote mentoring programme to set them up with the resources and tools they need to thrive in the world of business.

The individuals are psychometrically tested and personality profiled to establish the career path that works best for them. They are then paired with an industry mentor chosen to suit that particular person. The programme aims to establish who that young person might be if the societal barriers were stripped back, to focus on their strengths to establish where best they may work.

The aim, says the platform is to “Give them the people, the purpose, the passion,” to bridge the gap between young and experienced, between those in business and those looking for an open door. The app itself is for goal setting, messaging and scheduling while the tech-enabled platform will be individual to each young person, a community youth online space.

Founded by Dave Evans, Ready for Business is backed and supported by a whole host of brilliant industry minds. Laura Jordan Bambach, CCO of Grey, is a Non-Exec Director, while Tony Cook is CCO and Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy, is one of the organisation’s Board Advisors.

As Evans says, “Your support will enable us to launch our mentoring platform and engage businesses – helping a generation of young people see the light at last. To see who they can be, how great they can be; be whoever they want to be.”

It’s about paying it forward, allowing mentors to use the skills they’ve developed over the course of their careers to coach and help the young people just starting out; the ones that have perhaps, until now, felt unseen. As the launch film says, “the passing of knowledge is a powerful thing. In a world of take, there’s no better feeling.” Ready for Business actions what so many have talked about for years at a time when young people need support and opportunity more than ever.

Visit Ready for Business’s Crowdfunder page to pledge your support or visit the website to find out more.