Pop Up Talent is a new initiative helping stimulate young people’s interests in education, training and employment. The programme aims to aid discovery, exploration and expression of young people’s talents, as well as improving transferable employability skills and providing practical experiences.

The Pop Up Talent Shop will pop up in Wimbledon on Thursday 12th March, 3.00 to 7.00pm, at Grenfell Housing, 16-20 Kingston Road, Wimbledon, London SW19 1JZ.

Building on the successes of previous shops (read all about their Tooting shop here and their Mitcham shop here), the event will host a variety of hands-on taster sessions and inspiring talks from industry professionals in sectors such as music, film, photography, t-shirt design and more. There will also be a showcase of some of the talents that have been nurtured recently through the project.

Supported by Grenfell Housing & Training (GHT), Pop Up Talent is funded by The Big Lottery Fund to provide a local opportunity, for local young people. Following the Talent Shop, GHT will support young people to carry out social action projects across the borough as part of the initiative. Young people can also access funding to help them focus and progress their own talents via our Talent Bonds.

Across the UK, youth unemployment for 16–24 year-olds remains at 16.6%, and around 1000 young people in Merton are currently claiming Job Seekers Allowance. With so many young people actually wanting to work, Pop Up Talent is keen to help them focus on what they want to do, and then support them to achieve that!

Pop Up Talent Shops pop up wherever young people are, providing them with the opportunity to develop their talents, or create work opportunities for themselves through engaging and interactive taster sessions, delivered by local businesses and working people in and around the community. 

Young people get the chance to meet real professionals, gain new experiences and perspectives. The programme gives them the opportunity to make and maintain real connections, thereby improving their future prospects of entering into further training, education or employment.

Councillor Andrew Judge, Merton Council Cabinet Member for Environmental Sustainability and Regeneration said, “We have so much talent in Merton, and this initiative is a wonderful way of exposing our young people to career possibilities that they may never have thought of or they may not even thought possible. Being able to meet experts in their field in a relaxed atmosphere is a great way of becoming more informed about the career opportunities that are out there.”

If you’re interested or know young people that would like to attend, then sign up here. Pop up Talent will then be in touch before the day with more information on what you can expect.

You can find more information on Pop Up Talent’s website, and you can follow them on Twitter and Facebook.