Lincolnshire broadband provider takes action as youth unemployment reaches record levels
Quickline Communications has partnered with the Lincolnshire Institute of Technology (LIoT) to help young people access skilled careers as youth unemployment in the UK hits the highest levels in 11 years.
The independent broadband provider has partnered with the IoT to help connect young people to STEM careers and technical education they might not have previously had access to, as new government figures confirm almost one million young people are currently not in employment, education or training.
Despite record levels of unemployment among 16–24 year olds, young people in rural Lincolnshire face particular barriers to accessing technical education and skilled careers. The Quickline and LIoT partnership is working to change that at a regional and national level.
The IoT works with colleges, universities and local employers to deliver high-quality technical education for those seeking alternatives to the traditional university route. For Quickline Communications, a fast-growing broadband provider rolling out gigabit infrastructure across Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, the LIoT’s network of partner colleges - spanning Lincoln, Grimsby, Grantham, Stamford, Boston, Scunthorpe and beyond – offer a reach to a broad range of students.
The partnership, which will run until 2028, delivers two programmes; a £500,000 bursary scheme targeting students from deprived or underrepresented backgrounds facing financial barriers to STEM education - funding laptops, course fees, travel costs and practical learning equipment. Alongside this, the annual Lincolnshire STEM Challenge at the Lincolnshire Showground brings secondary school students together to tackle live engineering briefs, with Quickline engineers on hand for demonstrations, to share career stories and show young people what a technical career looks like from someone currently doing the job.
Mick Lochran, Director of LIoT, said: “Quickline Communications is a fantastic example of how employer partnerships can make a real difference to young people in our region, at a time when we need it most.
“By bringing investment, working engineers and real industry access into schools and colleges across Lincolnshire, Quickline is helping ensure that young people - wherever they live in the county - have a genuine route into skilled, well-paid careers. That is exactly the kind of collaboration the IoT was created to support.”
Ash Cane, Social Values Executive at Quickline Communications, said: “The IoT’s reach was already there. One college gets you one set of students. The IoT gets you a whole region.”