Rhondda Cynon Taf Pilot

Aims

• To better prepare and support young people to enter the world of work and compete effectively in the labour 
   market – enhance employability skills.
• To stem the flow of young people becoming ‘NEET’ (not in education, employment or training) – prevention 
   rather than cure.

A number of schemes have been established within RCT to build upon and inform RCT’s child poverty strategy and the LSBs proposed priority of ‘Educating young people out of poverty’.

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People and Work Project

The People and Work Unit have been commissioned to undertake pilot that will learn from young people directly about what their experiences of services are. the pojects aims are to:

• Improve understanding of needs
• Improve the fitness of services to meet needs
• Improve the connections between services
• Provide the Local Service Board with a robust evidence base for the commissioning/de-commissioning of 
   services to tackle child poverty.

The People and Work Unit is targeting young people who have additional needs that cannot be, or have not been met in mainstream schooling. The project will be targeting and tracking   30 young people in 3 cluster areas within Rhondda cynon Taf over a nine month period. 

An ‘action researcher’ will be appointed in each cluster area who, with the agreement of pupils and their families provide support in school and out, monitoring what happens to the young people, how they spend their time, what services they have contact with and how effective the contact is. The ‘action researchers’ will link young people and their families to services, which could be helpful, record what services were available, and which were used.  The project will therefore establish how effective interventions are in addressing needs and identify the way different services connect with the target group and what difference their interventions have made.

Pathways to Progression

Pathways to Progression aims to better support young people to enter the world of work and compete effectively in the labour market by providing access to flexible rounded learning programmes that encompass generic life and work skills, basic skills and opportunities to improve confidence and self esteem.

The project has four elements:

1. To run 5 x 6 week programme of work skills consisting of 6 x 1 day training sessions, each leading to nationally recognised certification.

The anticipated benefits of this element will be to:

• raise awareness of responsibilities that are integral to the world of work,
• gain nationally recognised certificates.
• increase self-confidence and self esteem
• increase communication and ability to work as part of a tem

2. Cardiff City Football Club

To run 6 x 6 week programme of increase basic skills via sports development.The anticipated benefit of this project is to increase engagement and participation as well as increased interest in basic skills which addresses some of the issues raised by employers.

3. OCNs Skills Towards Enabling Progression (Step Up Programme)

This has been developed as a direct result of learning and Welsh educational providers needs.  This focuses on literacy / independent living skills and personal and social education.

The anticipated benefits are to prepare for the transition into adulthood whilst achieving qualification that may lead to further education or work based learning progression.

4. WINTER SKILLZ

To provide a range of formal and non-formal learning opportunities within local Communities.