Decision details

The decision enables the signing of a grant agreement to provide the above funding.

To provide £150,000 grant funding (£50,000 per annum in each of 2025/26, 2026/27 and 2027/28) for Oxfordshire Youth’s Business Guardians programme.

This decision is not exempt.

Oxfordshire County Council has identified the Business Guardians programme delivered by Oxfordshire Youth as a key deliverable as part of Oxfordshire Works (the county’s Local Get Britain Working Plan).

It is intended that grant funding will enable Business Guardians to reach 500 of the most disadvantaged young people in the county, who are most at risk of exclusion from the labour market, by the end of the third year.

The grant funding will enable Oxfordshire Youth to work with employers to tackle youth unemployment, pursuant to the aims and objectives of Oxfordshire Works (the local Get Britain Working Plan). It will further enable Oxfordshire Youth to provide industry-specific workshops, events, work placement and work experience offers; to organise CEO mentorship programmes including 1-1 mentoring for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds; and form a CEO Leadership Council, contributing 2 days annually to advance strategic impact.

In addition, Oxfordshire County Council will join the programme as principal sponsor and strategic partner.

The programme delivers a range of outcomes aligned with OCC’s priorities (including reducing youth unemployment and those not in employment, education or training; supporting care leavers; and closing identified skills gaps), will enable OCC to provide strategic leadership, promotes data integration and insight, and future proofs Oxfordshire’s workforce.

1. Do nothing. Given the challenges for young people identified in Oxfordshire Works, this was not considered viable.
2. Increase resource at Oxfordshire County Council. OCC could directly employ staff to create a similar programme, working with Enterprise Oxfordshire. Given the existence of Business Guardians, which already has significant buy-in from the private sector, this option was rejected as it would create unnecessary competition and fragmentation.

3.    Identify a market solution. As above, it would be possible to identify a market solution but this was rejected as it would create unnecessary competition and fragmentation.