-Hopes to expand work placement project

A call is going out to local employers in Swansea to help bring out the untapped potential of young people in Swansea.

A brand new Work Related Education Project for Year 11 students has been successfully piloted in our city.

Selected pupils took part in their own individual vocational programme which gave them job related experience for one day per week. This enabled them to develop important employability skills and gain an NVQ in Customer Services.

On Wednesday (9th May) a group of 22 Year 11 students from across Swansea are being rewarded for completing the pilot project. They will receive their certificates at the Council's Employment Training Centre, who have provided the NVQ assessor for the scheme.

Swansea Council's 14 to19 Coordinator, Marcia Vale said the young people who joined the scheme were committed and motivated.

 "The employers and the young people were carefully matched.

"The employers who joined the project had appropriate training and each young person has a mentor who guides them through the tasks in the work place."

"In the new academic year we want to expand this programme to include more pupils and more employers. An Employers' Forum has been set up to allow participating employers to manage and oversee the quality of the project"

Keith Griffiths from Sinclair Garages in Penllergaer said their involvement in the pilot had been a success.

"We made the decision to join the scheme for two reasons really. One was that we felt we could offer students the chance to gain a lot of workplace skills, while the advantage to us is it saves the interview and recruitment process. Should a position come up, then we know which students have been reliable and trustworthy."