Almost thirty 16 - 18 year olds took part in OitC’s Summer TACKLE Traineeship Programme
Ospreys in theCommunity’s Summer TACKLE Traineeship Programme, run in conjunction with NPTC and Careers Wales, gives young people aged 16-18, who are not in education, training or employment an insight into the working environment, as well as increasing their knowledge of the opportunities available in education. The aim is to provide an accessible and enjoyable programme to re-engage young people and to get them back into education or employment.
In addition to the rugby and sport sessions, which are used as an engagement tool, the Trainees also visited various workplaces across the six weeks, such as: Swansea Police Station, Inspire Sports Academy, Swansea University, DVLA and TUI. Theses gave the young people an insight into the world of work, and further education, and broadened their horizons in terms of future employment.
Throughout the programme, pupils attained First Aid and Sports Leaders qualifications, heard from several guest speakers and also helped with the coaching involved in the Ospreys in the Community Three Day Rugby Camp, which was a fantastic opportunity for the young people to gain hands-on work experience.
The programme gives young people the skills needed to attain employment or progress to higher education. As well as numerous in-class sessions, focusing specifically on CV writing and interview technique, Sara Jones from TUI, also advised the Trainees on how to develop and improve their employability skills.
The Traineeship was rounded off by a Mock Interview Day, where all Trainees completed mock interviews with several employers, such as: the DVLA, Morganstone, Careers Wales, UWTSD, Halo Leisure, Swansea Council’s Youth Service, and South Wales Police. This was a brilliant, and very important, opportunity to expose the young people to what is expected of them within a professional interview and an opportunity to build their confidence in interviews.
Nia Collard of Morganstone Ltd commented on the interview day:
“Thank you for allowing us to be part of the programme. The interview day was fantastic, so well done for organizing such a worthwhile event. The three candidates whom I interviewed were all fantastic”.
The OitC Summer Tackle Traineeship was a great success, benefiting many of the Trainees. Jordan Davies, who was on the programme, said,
“Thank you for letting me be a part of the Traineeship. I really enjoyed it, and would recommend it to anyone. It has really helped us all look at jobs from a new perspective”.