Engaging and Motivating NEET Young People in Rural Wales

18 September 2012, Aberystwyth
25 September 2012, Bangor (Welsh language only)

Children in Wales is a joint sponsor in the Reach the Heights project which supports young people to gain skills for learning and employment through work experience and community-based opportunities.

They have developed a number of training courses, funded through the European Social Fund (ESF) Convergence Programme 2007-13, and are pleased to offer FREE places to practitioners who work solely or predominantly in the Convergence regions. Please see the booking form for the list of Convergence regions.

Often when talking about NEET young people policy makers often think only of young people living in urban areas of the UK, however the NEET issue is as much a rural one as it is a urban one. Importantly 'Rural NEETs' often face greater challenges in terms of transport, and simply less and education, employment and training opportunities than their urban peers. Although we do not promise to give you a magic wand to overcome issues such as transport this course will provide you with a range of approaches based on best practice from across the UK to provide the best support possible to young people living in rural areas of Wales. This training is also an opportunity to share best practice, innovations and solutions frontline practitioners have developed in order to increase access to education, employment and training opportunities.

Who is this course for?
Ideal for all professionals working within educational establishments across the UK including, Secondary Schools, The Youth Justice System, CareersWales, F.E. Colleges, Work Based Learning Providers the Third Sector and any other organisations such as Young Farmers Cymru working with young people in rural Wales.

What will I gain from this course?

• The opportunity to fully identify the unique barriers faced by Rural NEETs and how you can tailor and adapt your personal and organisational support for this specific group of young people
• Are there differences in urban and rural NEETs?
• An increased awareness of rural poverty and its related issues
• Gain a clear understanding of the importance of developing a positive and motivational culture within your organisation
• An insight into how your own behaviour is crucial in motivating NEET young people
• An introduction to Pro-Social modeling
• Develop your knowledge and understanding of designing realistic and flexible community based provision to minimise barriers such as transport, and Broadband related issues.
• The opportunity to share best practice to design a flexible programme/provision to increase the motivation and engagement of rural NEET young people.