Journey of discovery
Judith Edwards • Published 8 Oct 2010 11:00
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Activities over the three months included a week at a residential outdoor pursuits centre, working on a community project, individual work placements and a team challenge
Team 9 graduates (pictured) gave a presentation on how they have benefited from the experience ahead of two new courses being delivered by Connexions Berkshire.
The next Slough Prince's Trust programme begins on September 27 and in Reading a new group will start on October 4.
The programme is free and is about personal development, re-engaging young people and helping them to think about their future.
In Team 9, a number had left school after GCSEs, with no plan for continuing education or vocational training, others had completed degree courses but had lost momentum, direction and to an extent, hope of finding work in a challenging jobs market. Aged 16 to 25 years, the team started to get to know each other during the second residential activity. For some it was the first time they had stayed away from home, but for all it was a significant bonding experience resulting in an impressive degree of cooperation and team-spirit. Every one of the young people who started the programme, completed it.
A team can have up to 12 participants and the ethos is that by creating a unique mix of people, from different backgrounds, the group provides an environment where young people can improve their skills and attitudes to be better equipped for the world of employment.
All work towards a City & Guilds NVQ Level 1 qualification in Personal Development and Contributing To The Community. They have worked in large companies, at professional sports clubs, voluntary agencies and in their local communities. Each new team programme works with partner agencies to offer accredited programmes such as The V-Involved volunteering certificate.
In the three years that Connexions has been involved in the programme in Berkshire it has delivered 14 team programmes, nine in Slough, four in Reading and one in Bracknell with 119 young people completing the 12 week programme. So far, 54% have moved on and the remainder continue to work with Connexions in a search of employment, education or training.
Yasmin Akhtar, Slough Team 9, kept a diary with input from the rest of the group. She wrote: "Week four is our fundraising week. We have done a car wash, a bag pack at Sainsburys where we made just over £100, a games tournament at Slough Young People's Centre and a Krispy Kreme doughnut sale. Altogether we raised £231.50.
"In week five we prepared for the fun event at The Haymill Centre, Burnham. We also started a community project, painting the railings and gardening at
St Mary's Church."
In weeks seven and eight the group attended work placements at Evans clothing store, the Holiday Inn hotel,
TK Maxx and Essence Communications.
Week nine was Next Steps, focusing on finding employment, college courses and volunteering opportunities. The final three weeks were dedicated to the team challenge. Tasked to find a community to support and work with for a week, they chose the Parvaaz centre, Slough. It goes without saying that all team members have benefited from the experience. All are more motivated and have a better understanding of how to navigate the route from post-education to career.
This is what the team have gone on to do:
Yasmin Akhtar - full time job at Tesco in High Wycombe
Paul Evans and Emma Henderson - Higher Options course at Langley College
Hannah Asbery - full time employment at a cafe in Bracknell
Zara Choudhary - Business management course at Langley College
Aimal Khan - starting ESOL course at Langley College
Tayyaba Minhas - looking for a job in administration
Maroukh Shah - E2E Course to help improve English and Maths
Chetan Bali - E2E- Pit Stop programme
www.connexions-berkshire.org.uk
This article appeared in Royal Borough Observer 09 Sep 10
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