Pictured above: Daniel Keith

A 17 year old musician known for his hard rock gigs across Shirebrook and the surrounding towns, is set to help other aspiring musicians to do the same, with help from Euro cash.

Daniel Keith, who has lived in Shirebrook most of his life, left school with just one C grade GCSE in Science. 

After a brief stint cleaning and stacking shelves at a local supermarket, he was unsure where his life was heading until he was referred to a work placement programme at Elmton and Creswell Village Company by Connexions, with whom he had been put in touch by his school.  

Now Daniel is an inspiration to young people across the county as his determination to succeed means he is set to follow his musical dream after starting a BTEC 1st Diploma in Music at West Notts College, alongside taking Learn Direct level 2 in Maths and English.

Daniel said, "I've always been into music and really admire musicians like Aaron Lewis, Mark Morton, Willie Adler and Adam Dutkeiwicz.  I play lots of gigs across local pubs and was really keen to make a career out of it, but after I left school with few qualifications I was unsure what to do next.  The placement at Elmton and Creswell Village Company has been really excellent.  It's given me the chance to develop lots of skills and the positive feedback and support I've received has really helped me to develop my confidence and made me realise I can achieve a career in a field I'm passionate about.  After my BTEC I'd like to go on to university to continue my studies and then I'm hoping to become a music teacher, unless I become a rock star!" 

'Elmton and Creswell Village Company' is currently running an ESF Youth programme, managed by Derbyshire Learning & Development Consortium. The aim of the project is to get young people into employment or further learning.  It is delivered by Derbyshire Learning & Consortium's Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) member organisations across Derbyshire.  It is being funded by over £211,180 from the European Social Fund 2007-13 (ESF) and the Learning and Skills Council East Midlands.  ESF is investing £376 million overall to boost skills and jobs in the region.

Daniel's five month work placement in IT, multi-media and multi-media products at Elmton and Creswell Village Company, enabled Daniel to develop his knowledge about musical composition programmes like Garageband, as well as work on his own CD.

Daniel was also able to undertake a weekly search for courses and jobs that might suit him. Throughout the training he was assisted by payments of £30 a week from the Education Maintenance Allowance.  

Julie Holling, from the Elmton and Creswell Village Company said, "Daniel has been able to really focus on both his interests and his career during his placement at Elmton and Creswell Village Company.  He was able to gain hands on experience of work with music while looking for ways to turn this into genuine progression up the ladder''.  

"Throughout the placement he showed he was really good with computers and was also helpful to his fellow learners when the tutor, Prunella Jones was involved with other learners.  Daniel took to the training on Apple Macs very well and was able to help promote Elmton and Creswell Village Company's diverse business by producing posters and flyers for us. Throughout the placement Daniel showed he had other abilities apart from his music, achieving good results in literacy and numeracy and demonstrating strong team work''.  

"The placement has really helped boost Daniel's confidence. He took every element of the placement in his stride, and we're really pleased that he's now secured a place doing a BTEC in his chosen field."