A project in Lincolnshire is helping get young people aged 16
-24 into jobs, education or training thanks to European funding to
boost skills and jobs in the region.
The Employment Finder Service, run by New College Stamford, has
been awarded £900,000 from the European Social Fund 2007-13
(ESF) and the Learning and Skills Council East Midlands. ESF is
investing £376 million overall in the East Midlands.
Young people who are not in employment, education or training
(NEET), or who are in danger of becoming so, often find it
difficult to navigate the range of options available to them in the
educational and employment sectors.
The Service, which began a year ago seeks to simplify the
options for those looking to take advantage of personalised
learning programmes based on progression pathways thereby providing
clear, transparent pre-apprenticeship and pre-diploma routes to
learning and employment, through intensive mentoring.
Services provided include: current skills assessment and
training needs analysis; employment/education opportunities
research - job/course hunting; CV writing; interview preparation;
personal presentation advice; work experience placements and
informal meetings with industry specialists for people interested
in a specific career.
As part of the project, four dedicated centres have opened in
Stamford, Sleaford, Spalding and Grantham to provide a base for
young adults on the programme. Barnardo's Lincs Training are also
working with New College Stamford to deliver the programme for
young adults in Lincoln.
Glenn Powell, Implementation Manager, New College Stamford,
said: "The project is currently on target to engage around 300
learners over 2.5 years. Already we have helped 70 people into
education, training or a job, which is fantastic news.
"The European Social Fund money is already making a big
difference across Lincolnshire and we know this will continue long
into the future too."
Staff from the Sleaford Centre recently accompanied five
learners on a volunteer day to the Bubble Car Museum at Byards
Leap, near RAF Cranwell. Arranged through the Sleaford Volunteer
Centre, the young people helped paint and decorate the display
areas inside the museum used for displaying the vehicles and
painted a number of outdoor storage sheds, all ready for the new
2009 season.
Susan Potter, Sleaford Centre Coordinator added: "The group
worked really well together developing their team working skills
and overcame any problems they encountered. Overall they had a fun,
but exhausting day carrying out work for a worthwhile cause."
Henry Lambert, 17, from Ashby de la Launde, Lincoln, said: "At
the end of the day we were all pretty tired but the sense of
achievement that we all got was amazing among the group." Thanks to
support through the project, Henry is now applying to join the
Army.
Chelsea Beaven, 18, from Sleaford, is now on an Apprenticeship
at North Kesteven District Council. She said: "The skills I gained
from this is communication as I had to be aware of the other people
around me when doing physical work to ensure there weren't any
accidents."
Doug Garriock, 18, from Sleaford, said: "Overall I think this
was a fantastic day out, I enjoyed doing the work as it gave me a
sense of accomplishment and I could look at the work I had
achieved." Doug is currently receiving ongoing support whilst
looking for work.