Social Innovator Dialogues Masterclass with Jonty Olliff-Cooper and Tarik Yousef

What’s Working? A forum on young people, skills and jobs

The challenge of connecting young people to skills and training and then to employment opportunities is shared by many countries.

In this Social Innovator Dialogues forum, you are invited to join Tarik Yousef and Jonty Olliff-Cooper in a conversation about the common themes, and some of the differences, that characterise the way these connections are being made more effectively in the Middle East, the UK and other parts of the world.

Dr Yousef is the CEO of Silatech, a leading social enterprise in the Middle East whose mission is “to connect young people, 18-30 years old, with employment and enterprise opportunities.” The organisation has a commitment to “mobilize interest, investment, knowledge, resources and action to drive large-scale comprehensive employment and enterprise development programmes”.

From the UK, Jonty-Olliff Cooper is Director of Strategy and Policy for leading UK social service provider A4E which works to “improve people's lives...by helping them to find work, skills, direction.” With operations also in Australia, Ireland, Germany, India, Poland, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, A4E is, by its own admission, building a social movement.

The forum will share projects and initiatives from these different parts of the world, and the thinking they reflect, and dig beneath the surface a little to explore the role of social innovation as a source of fresh thinking and new approaches.