A chartered occupational psychologist will be using her extensive experience working with young people to generate greater understanding of the issues and solutions they need with employment in the capital.
Of Turkish Cypriot heritage, Yeşim Guner sits on the panel of a seminar titled ‘Youth Employment Issues: What’s it Got To Do with Occupational Psychology?’
It aims to highlight real life challenges faced by young people today suffering social anxiety, mental health issues, learning difficulties and disabilities, and many other current issues impacting young people from obtaining sustainable employment, and offering practical interventions and solutions from a Psychological perspective.
Organised by the DOP Youth Employment Working Group, the 2-hour session will draw on examples of good practice in research and practice from occupational psychologists and others working with young people or youth employment issues.
Yeşim Guner is one of seven speakers on the day. She will be sharing her experiences of ‘Working on the Frontline with Vulnerable People’.
Her co-speakers include Dr Angela Carter, Editor of ‘Young People, Employment and Work Psychology: Interventions and Solutions’ (2019), and Cllr Nesil Çalışkan, Head of Enfield Council, who will be talking about ‘The Challenges of Tackling Youth Violence from a Local Authority Perspective’.
Free registration to Youth Employment Issues seminar
The event, which is free and open to the public, takes place at British Psychological Society (BPS), located at 30 Tabernacle Street, EC2A, from 10.45am until 1pm on Thursday 31 October. It is an opportunity for interested parties to find out about research and practice linking occupational psychology and youth employment, as well as sharing your own experiences and ideas over lunch.
The last day for registration is on Sunday 27 October – simply complete this online registration form on the BPS website. 
The seminar is inspired by a book, Young People, Employment and Work Psychology: Interventions and Solutions, that was published earlier this year, co-authored by educators, researchers, occupational psychologists, and government agencies responding to young people struggling to gain and sustain employment.
Yeşim Guner is among the contributors, penning the fifth chapter called ‘It’s a Hard Knock Life: Youth unemployment in London’.
“The issue of youth unemployment & under-employment is prevalent in most developed countries”
Youth unemployment and under-employment is a growing problem, prevalent across most of the developed world. Experts believe having few young people in the workplace “has serious and lasting consequences for generations of young people, their families, businesses and society as a whole”.
New book Young People, Employment & Work Psychology: Interventions & Solutions
The book’s editor Dr Carter explores these important issues from multiple perspectives, offering research evidence and guiding frameworks from social and work psychology, to get more young people into good work.
Theoretically based and evidence-driven, it explores the consequences of unemployment, suggests ways in which businesses can enable young people’s first steps into employment and gives practical advice to young people and employers to prepare for and gain entry-level roles and develop more diverse workplaces.
It looks at the reasons why organisations are often reluctant to employ young people, as well as the issues of motivation and confidence, which often affect young people’s perspective in looking for work, and offers details of interventions within both the public and private sector.
Young People, Employment and Work Psychology: Interventions and Solutions is available to order from Waterstones on paperback for £29.99.
Who is Yeşim Guner, C.Psychol (HCPC Registered)?
Yeşim Guner is an occupational psychologist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, with over 13-years of experience working with Young People. Born in London to hard working Turkish Cypriot parents, who immigrated to the UK from Cyprus in the 1960s, telling her to “put your back into anything, you shall succeed”. Her father, an electrical engineer and a main inspiration, encouraged her pursuit to becoming an occupational psychologist.
After completing her Master’s Degree at the Institute of Work Psychology, University of Sheffield, in 2004, Yeşim went on to become a qualified Occupational Psychologist in 2008. Gaining employment in local government, she utilised her knowledge to provide young people living in a North London borough with the support they need. She soon became a strong advocate for these young people, ready to support them in breaking down barriers and “fighting” for their success.
Yeşim has stated she is hopeful that the 2020 Government initiatives for “more unified working amongst all professionals to support vulnerable young people and their families to the highest standards” will be a “true success”.
She added, “It is fair to say that my husband and I wish for nothing more than our daughter to grow up to be a well-rounded member of society with a strong foundation and good employment opportunities when (and if she decides to take that route) she graduates and becomes ready to embark on her own professional career, whatever that may be.”
