Branching Out/Egin - The Engagement Gateway Initiative
If you think you might like a career working in the outdoor environment and are looking for training to improve your practical skills, why not take advantage of this initiative.
The aim of the Engagement Gateway initiative is to enable disengaged young people, 16 - 25 years, who are not in employment, education or training, to develop the confidence and skills to follow pathways to employment and become active members of their community.
The 2-year initiative will see groups of young people, led by Tir Coed approved tutors, being trained, for 2 days per week over a 3 month period, at woodland sites with public access in Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, in two key stages:
- 4 days of taster sessions - including green woodwork and countryside management workshops that will enable young people to focus on improving their confidence, communication and problem solving skills. These skills will be developed by means of small, achievable tasks, such as crafting an item from wood that they can take home with them. In addition, the informal atmosphere during breaks around the campfire will help young people to talk openly about issues within their lives that they may not normally feel able to discuss and which may be a barrier to participation.
- Accredited courses - Work-based skills training will be matched with maintenance and improvement projects in the local community; this will involve woodland and countryside management, as well as making rustic furniture from wood, building wildlife hides and boardwalks and improving access to green spaces.
Tir Coed has developed Woodland and Countryside Skills courses that offer a framework of Open College Network (OCN) accredited units. These courses are designed to further develop the vocational skills of participants, as well as progressing team work and organisational skills.
A Mentor will help young people overcome any barriers to participation and full engagement. Working with the young people, local land-based small businesses and with other agencies, the Mentor will develop an exit route for each young person, based on progression to further learning, volunteer/work placements or employment in their chosen field of interest.
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