More money to help vulnerable young people (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

More money to help vulnerable young people

12:02pm Saturday 12th July 2008 in Wiltshire

Wiltshire voluntary and community groups have been awarded over £120,000 to work with vulnerable young people and help reduce the number not in education, employment or training (NEET).

The voluntary and community sector (VCS) funding is administered by Connexions, part of Wiltshire County Council, as part of the Wiltshire NEET reduction strategy. It has been awarded annually for several years, with applications from voluntary and community groups considered by a multi-agency panel and a panel of trained young people. 2008/09 recipients include Relate Mid Wiltshire, British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV), CFBT Education Trust, U-Too and the Wiltshire and Swindon Activity and Sports Partnership (WASP).

Work has already started on several of the projects, including Project 18, run by BTCV. Project Officer Ben Rawlings meets with up to ten young people aged 16-18 from Chippenham, Corsham and Trowbridge every Thursday and is helping them to develop skills that will assist in finding work.

"We have done conservation work on the Amerdown Estate, in Mortimer's Wood and Padstock, including scrub clearance, step building and fence building," said Ben. "The work is accredited, so the young people will gain V50 volunteering awards as well as Youth Achievement Awards. Some of the group have low self esteem so this project helps them to build confidence, learn new skills, socialise with other young people and to obtain some qualifications. The project is going well and a few members have already felt confident enough to apply for jobs."

CFBT Education Trust has received funding for two projects - Flex and ABC2 (And Baby Came Too). ABC2 is a course designed to help young parents aged 16-18, from Chippenham and surrounding areas, to get into learning or work and will start in autumn 2008. The course will last 16 weeks and will include key skills such as problem-solving, decision-making, personal development and parenting skills, with some one-to-one provision. Flex works individually with young people who are 'drifting' in their lives, providing mentoring, support and motivation and helping them to achieve qualifications and skills.

Other projects awarded funding include BTCV's 'Not So NEET Wiltshire', providing 15-18 year olds with personal development and accredited activities in north and south Wiltshire; U-Too's Bump and Beyond2 Effective Parenting courses for young parents in Westbury, Salisbury and Chippenham; and Wiltshire and Swindon Activity and Sports Partnership's sports leadership courses for 30 young people in north and west Wiltshire.