Historic Buildings

#Grow Ventnor Exchange Grow Phase

We want to transform the way young people aged 14-25 engage with heritage organisations on the Isle of Wight, with the ambition of increasing employment prospects and pathways into heritage jobs and volunteering opportunities. This is vital to avoid a deepening recruitment crisis in the sector. If the Isle of Wight was a country, it would be the oldest in the world, with pensioners expected to make up a third of the Island's residents by 2026 compounded by a declining birth rate and emigration of young adults. Building on our Innovation Programme to date, we will create new paid placements in organisations across the Island, with a wrap around programme of mentoring and support for both young people and their heritage organisation hosts, to establish and embed new pathways into employment.