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You are here: Home > News > Helping To Develop Skills Among Jobless Youth

• Helping to develop skills among jobless youth

• Date:

  10th June 2008

• Contact:

  Sarah Egerton

• Organisation:

  The Civic Trust

Green Flag Award winning Rother Valley Country Park formed the scenic backdrop for a group of jobless youngsters who were being given the chance to kick-start their careers.

A joint initiative by Rotherham Council and Rotherham College of Arts and Technology is aimed at ‘neets’ - people aged between 16 and 24 who are not in education, work or training.

The group of 21 young people is spending two days a week at the council working in various departments ranging from administration, customer service, finance and IT to youth wardens, catering and highways.

As part of their course they spent a morning at Rother Valley Country Park developing their teamworking skills by taking part in a raft-building exercise. People who finish the course, accredited by National Open College Network, will receive a nationally recognised Open College Network qualification.

There is also an opportunity for some of the group to go on to year-long modern apprenticeships with the council.

Shaun Wright, Rotherham’s cabinet member for children and young people’s services, said: “There are a variety of reasons why young people sometimes leave school and find difficulties getting started in the world of employment and training. Some are academic while other issues are due to personal circumstances.”