JP Morgan Chase helps NHS digitise its pre-employment programme

Written by Ruby Hinchliffe
16th June 2020

JP Morgan Chase has donated over half a million to Prince Charles’ charity ‘The Prince’s Trust’ to help the UK’s NHS digitise its pre-employment programme.

It aims to reach more than 1,000 young people over the next 11 months

The digital push aims to see the national health service “rapidly place” young people into clinical and non-clinical health and social care roles. The charity, set up in 1976, helps 11 to 30-year-olds who are struggling at school or unemployed.

The US bank – which has $3.1 trillion in assets – will funnel just over half a million (£540,000) into the project, which is part of JP Morgan’s $250 million philanthropic commitment during the coronavirus crisis.

Called ‘Get Started with Health and Social Care’, the online programme is designed to address the demand for talent in the NHS which has heightened during the coronavirus crisis, whilst also giving a leg up to those failed by the country’s education system.

The bank cites research which predicts disposable income earned by UK households will be 17% lower in the second quarter of this year, and that up to 2.1 million people in the UK could lose their jobs in the same time frame, according to the Centre for Economics and Business and the Office for Budget Responsibility.

The bank’s funding will also underpin the charity’s outreach efforts, including mentoring and coaching services. It aims to reach more than 1,000 young people over the next 11 months, “with an aim for half to secure roles”, the bank says.

“As the COVID-19 crisis continues to impact the UK, young people are facing a rapidly changing labour market and job instability in the short and long term,” said JPMorgan’s head of global philanthropy for Europe, the Middle East, Africa (EMEA) and Latin America (LatAm), Hang Ho.

“With some schools and training centres remaining closed, helping young people towards clear pathways to good jobs is essential.” Since the virus began, the bank says it has invested $11.2 million across EMEA.