Training Teen’s Edinburgh: Youth, enthusiasm and reaching greater heights!

What image does it conjure up when you hear the words young people and vocational training? Be really honest with yourself and hold onto that image.

Does your image include young people...

• Who want to own their own business?

• Who have left school with several Highers and chose not to go to university but to pursue vocational training options?

• Who rise to meet every challenge they are given and exceed their own expectations?

• Who can make a brilliant and positive first impression on anyone they meet?

• Who can set their own goals and remain focused on meeting these goals to achieve their dreams?

It didn’t? Well it should! Training Teens: Reaching greater heights (technically the JHP Pathways to Apprenticeship programme but that didn’t sound inspiring or set out what they were all going to achieve so we changed that!!) in Edinburgh were all of the above and more and after 6 days of Training KDS Style  they all realised the potential that they had!

Covering Skills identification, introductions to Retail and Hospitality Sectors, Health & Safety, Manual Handling, First Aid, communication, understanding emotions and behaviours, Personal Enhancement, a session with Stevie Kidd, Identifying skills and the legendary Mind Over Matter day all in 6 days!  They bonded further as a team to be reckoned with and quickly realised they had all achieved more than they thought they would with the support of this team! They got a first hand experience of the range of emotions that you go through when you are having a good, and a very hard, day at work and importance of recognising how to do deal with these in a positive way rather than resorting to negative coping strategies. This group showed that there was no challenge they couldn’t rise to and that everything is easier when you work as part of a supportive team! What a fantastic team they became – from the 15 quiet (ish!!) individuals that came into the training on day one they blossomed into a team to be reckoned with! Individuals that were confident to set their own goals, opinions and directions in life and were not afraid to express these, take on board the input of others and communicate assertively their needs!

When this group and I hear the Bon Jovi song “It’s my life” (well they will all remember it as it became their theme tune!) and are singing along to the lines “I ain’t gonna be just a face in the crowd” and “it’s my life, it’s now or never” I can say without doubt that they will all reach greater heights and will never just be a face in the crowd!!

Posted by Kate Sutherland on 09 October 2011 in : KDS Training, KDS Youth Training, Training employability

2 Comments

Posted by Michelle Lockard on 10 October 2011

Well Done to all on the Training Teens Youth Programme who achieved all of the above. Stick with what you have learned and remember - ''Its your life...''

Posted by Tommy on 10 October 2011

Kate wonderful blog, and its great to hear such positivity within a team of young people.

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