The bosses of social mobility charity The Talent Tap are taking on a gruelling 104km (64.6 miles) run around the Isle of Wight to highlight the geographical and socio-economic barriers facing young people on the Island.
On 21st October 2023, CEO Naomi Ambrose will be joined by fellow team members, including The Talent Tap’s founder Nick Cowley and several current Talent Tap students, to run the equivalent of two-and-a-half marathons back-to-back around the Island.
To sponsor the runners to go the extra mile(s) for Isle of Wight teens visit the JustGiving Page.
Supporting young Islanders
The money raised by the team will go directly to supporting more young Islanders to access The Talent Tap’s life-changing programme. The Talent Tap is the only Social Mobility Charity with a direct presence on the Isle of Wight.
Young people from Year 13 can apply to the Talent Tap to receive up to four years of funded support including bursaries to visit universities, residential work experience opportunities in major UK cities, employability training, introductions to a network and mentoring. The programme aims to give students the knowledge, confidence, and skills they need to access employment on a level playing field with those from more privileged backgrounds.
IW success stories
Former Talent Tap success stories from the Isle of Wight include Abigail Keyte, from Christ the King, who currently works for the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, and Sam Marchbank from Ryde Academy, who has started a graduate trainee job with Lloyds Banking Group in Bristol.
Sam has said,
“The support The Talent Tap has given me not just this year, but since I signed up over three years ago has been incredible,” says Sam. “A lot of the skills I have learnt and experience that have got me to this point have been through the charity. The Talent Tap has given me the springboard I needed to achieve what I have and get where I am today.”
Highlighting struggles of disadvantaged youths in rural and coastal areas
The challenge is part of the charity’s ongoing mission to highlight the struggles of disadvantaged youths in rural and coastal areas, often trapped in ‘social mobility cold spots’. With the government’s flagship “levelling up” policy to close the UK’s regional divides facing accusations of stagnation, it’s critical to shed light on the formidable obstacles underprivileged teenagers face today.
The Isle of Wight can offer career opportunities for those wanting to stay on the Island. But for many, the short stretch of Solent that separates it from the mainland creates a significant barrier for young people seeking work experience further afield.
Poor social mobility
For school-age children in particular, the Isle of Wight is one of the worst places in the UK for social mobility, coming in at 522 out of 533 in the Social Mobility Index per Constituency of England.
Across the four life stages measured by the index (early years, school age, youth and adulthood), the Isle of Wight is in the bottom 30 per cent of the index, making it a ‘social mobility cold spot’: an area where a young person from an economically deprived location on the Island at the age of 26 would have half the earning potential as someone from the same background but living in a more prosperous place such as Hackney in London.
Fewer professional and managerial roles
As a result, the Isle of Wight has significantly fewer people employed in professional and managerial roles than the rest of the UK, with the average number of people employed in professional occupations being 8.1 per cent lower than the national average, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The run
The runners will start from the Barton Estate at approximately 10pm on 20th October and run through the night plus the following day, hoping to arrive back there by 5pm on 21st October.
The Talent Tap alumni and others who want to run a half marathon will join at Seaview Yacht Club at 2pm on 21st October.
Ambrose: Will be a mega challenge for me and the team
CEO Naomi Ambrose, who has been waking at 5.30 am and running with a head torch to get the miles in before work, commented,
“Geographical location – and in this case, the sea – can play a huge part in the lives of young people trying to get ahead in their careers.”
She adds,
“Running around this beautiful Island will be a mega challenge for me and the team. But this is our way of highlighting the immense challenges young people here face through no fault of their own. Despite being just two miles away from the mainland, the Isle of Wight is worlds away when it comes to job and networking opportunities. There’s a real danger that if we don’t support teens on the Isle of Wight with relevant work experience and contacts, they could miss out on life chances that young people in cities and suburban areas have much easier access to.”
The Talent Tap team are all keen runners, but they have never covered such a distance in one go.
Cowley: We really wanted to go the ‘extra mile(s)’
Founder Nick Cowley comments,
“This is not a race, and we won’t be getting any medals. This is just us pushing ourselves to the limit to prove our dedication to the cause. We can all run (or have run) a marathon at some stage, but we really wanted to go the ‘extra mile(s)’ to prove ourselves worthy of the financial support we hope to receive from the Island community, and keep that money within the community.”
All money raised will go towards enabling young people facing socio-economic and geographical barriers to access The Talent Tap programme and gain the future they deserve. As an example, £1,500 will fund one student on the charity’s programme for one year.
Show your support
To sponsor the runners to go the extra mile(s) for Isle of Wight teens visit the JustGiving Page.
Call for businesses to get involved
The charity is calling on businesses to support its tangibly beneficial social mobility initiatives by donating funds to the cause or by joining The Talent Tap’s employer partner network.
To be part of the charity’s mission to level the playing field for young people, regardless of socio-economic background or geography, visit the Website.
News shared by Naomi, in her own words. Ed
