Our club: Sports clubs to get young people working
Sports clubs to get young people working
Morrisons is pioneering a new programme in famous sporting venues around the UK to help young unemployed people get back into work. There are currently over a million young unemployed people and Our Club aims to employ the techniques used in sports coaching to help them with the skills and confidence they need to start building their future career.
Starting this week with support from Bradford Council, the programme is being trialled for the first time at the Provident Stadium, the famous home of Bradford Bulls Rugby League Club. It will then move at the end of the month to the Oval cricket ground in south London. The six-week course aims to give young people the belief they need to be successful in the world of work.
This is done through a combination of sports based team work, as well as providing work skills training and job placement opportunities. Bradford is the home of Morrisons, and it is only right that the programme is piloted here first before a national roll out across five more centres.
Nick Rowe, Academy and Talent Director at Morrisons said: “Too many young people are getting stuck in a cycle of unemployment without the experience and skills to take that first step on the work ladder. Sport is inspirational for many young people so by combining elements from sports coaching with work skills training, we can deliver a programme that does much more than just teach people how to write a CV.”
Susan Hinchcliffe, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Employment, Skills and Culture, said: “As a council we have already committed £7.7 million of funding to establish Get Bradford Working, the biggest local authority back to work scheme in the country. It's great that Bradford businesses like Morrisons see that they too have a role to play in giving our young people opportunities to find work so I am delighted that they are investing in Bradford through their CCE programme."
On successful completion, candidates are guaranteed an interview with one of the partner companies supporting the scheme in the local area. The aspiration is that new found confidence and skills will impress employers so much that opportunities for permanent employment are made available.
The training is being delivered by the Coaching Centre for Excellence (CCE) who worked closely with Jobcentre Plus in Bradford to find the 30 young people to take part in the course. To be eligible, candidates had to be aged between 18 and 24 and have been out of work for at least five months at the start of the programme.
The CCE is also working with other companies in the local area to encourage them to support the initiative and offer placements to young people who have been long-term unemployed.
Christina Dennis, Chief Executive of the CCE, said, “Our Club is our opportunity to make a lasting difference to young people’s lives. We’ve had a fantastic start to the programme and we’d love to hear from any businesses in the Bradford area who’d like to get involved.” – See more here.
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