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One woman was heard telling the royal that “we appreciate you coming”, while others took pictures of the future King. The Prince was joined by Chancellor Rishi Sunak as he visited JD Sports’ Walworth branch to speak to 16 to 24 year olds who had been helped with The Kickstart Scheme by The Prince’s Trust.
When walking down the street, the pair were surrounded by the excitable crowd with one woman asking Mr Sunak to take a picture of her with the heir to the throne.
The Kickstart Scheme was set up by the Chancellor in September 2020 to provide young people with temporary work placements.
It was established after youth unemployment had peaked at 15 percent following the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
Kickstart was available for young people aged 16 to 24 who were at risk of unemployment, creating jobs or temporary work placements for them.
The Prince met people outside before he went inside the sports retailer in order to speak to those involved with the programme.
Charles, who also stood in for his mother at The Queen’s Speech on Tuesday, also met people who worked for JD Sports.
Pav Soor, 24 who met the Prince said he had been rejected from 400 jobs before joining Marks and Spencer as a Kickstarter.
Mr Soor said his period of unemployment was “demoralising” and made him feel like he had no “worth.”
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He said: “It just made me feel like I have no worth. It’s demoralising.”
Mr Soor added that speaking to the Prince was “more of a discussion with a friend”.
Mr Soor said: “He was interested in our journeys, in our personal journeys. He individually spoke to each of us and asked us how you got here.
“There’s a stigma behind a higher power not really being clued with what the younger generation are doing, but I was really glad to see that stigma just wiped away.”
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Mollie McCaldon, who works for JD Gyms, spoke to Charles about her job and said the future king was “interested in your choices”.
Mr Sunak was recently spotted wearing a £335 pair of trainers and confessed to a JD executive that he suffered from a weakness for trainers.
The Chancellor asked staff if they received a discount and replied with a shocked “wow” when told they receive a 25 percent discount.
Prince Charles has a long history of charity work himself particularly with young people.
He established The Prince’s Trust in 1976 to help vulnerable young people get their lives back on track.
It helps support 11 to 30 year-olds who are unemployed as well as those who are struggling at school or at risk of exclusion.
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