Course to help jobless boost their confidence wins praise

A YORKSHIRE college has hailed the success of a course it has launched with a youth charity aimed at helping boost the confidence and employability of young people who are out of work.

The 12-week development course is being run by the Prince’s Trust and Sheffield College for people between the age of 16 and 25 who are not in employment, education or training (NEET).

Target groups for the programme also include those who have been in care, educational underachievers and youth offenders.

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The course is run at both Norton College and Peaks College which are part of the Sheffield College group.

One-in-five young people from Yorkshire are currently classed as being NEET, according to the latest Department for Education (DfE) figures. Although the level of NEETs has fallen by around 20,000 since last year it remains one of the highest figures of any of the Government regions in England.

The DfE statistics showed that 20 per cent of 16 to 24-year-olds in Yorkshire were NEET at the end of the third quarter of the year.

Only the North East and the West Midlands had a higher propotion of young people out of work or training.

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The new course offers work experience, personal and practical skills development, such as group presentations and interview techniques, helping on community projects and taking part in a residential week away.

The first group of students to take the course completed it last month and received their certificates at an awards ceremony. Among them was 17-year-old Thomas Leary who left school a year-ago, and found himself out of work and training.

“I got stuck, and lost my confidence,” said Thomas, from Darnall, who has six GCSEs. Since he finished the course, he said he had re-gained a sense of purpose and direction. He added: “I feel like I can talk to a lot more people. I enjoyed the teamwork skills and I am now applying to do a mechanics apprenticeship at the college.”

Lee Gundry, the course leader at Peaks College, said: “Some of these young people have faced real challenges in their lives and need that second chance and support to succeed, especially in the current tough economic climate. We will help them with travel and equipment costs. It’s about building their confidence and showing them how they can improve their skills and prospects. The majority of this group are going to move onto college courses, to work their way up the qualifications ladder and improve their prospects.”