SMMT Learning Forum

My visit to SMMT

Today I went to visit SMMT to discuss the partnerships between Mayday Trust, Foyer Federation and various automotive companies. I was excited to hear about what different manufacturers were doing with the young people that had been working alongside them on their work readiness and employability opportunity.

Various automotive manufacturers including Ford, Toyota, BMW and Unipart Eberspacher have taken on groups of young people from Mayday Trust and Foyer Federation to give them the opportunity to take part in a work placement where they will gain work readiness and employability skills. The aim of this is to get young people ready for work and provide them with a great bit of experience to add to their CV and ultimately tackle youth unemployment.

I will be writing 4 short stories to give an outline of what each company have been offering their candidates and how this has benefited both the company and the young people. I also got the opportunity to interview the interim CEO of SMMT and I hope to upload this soon too.

 

Enjoy :)

Fi :)

Interview with Tom from Daventry about his aspirations in life

Tom from Daventry Mayday Trust is 20 and has been living in Mayday accommodation for 1 year. He has seen the recent changes to Mayday and has recognised major differences in the way that the support is offered and structured. Tom feels that there is more support available now but at the start he was unsettled by the changes but is now getting used to them and is happy with the way things are working.

Tom has recently been successful in joining the Homeless Football Association England squad and after completing this he aspires to coach young people football. Tom wants to find talent similar to that that he has in young people and would like to help work with someone who has the potential to become a professional. Mayday has helped him in achieving this by encouraging him to look for opportunities relevant to this. Since tom has been with Mayday he has grown in confidence and so took it upon his self to apply to his local children’s team to volunteer as a coach and is due to start this next month.

Mayday recognised Toms’ talent and was eager to offer him the opportunity to further this with the Homeless Football Association. Tom was contacted by a member of staff from Mayday Trust and they discussed the opportunity and tom applied for it. After applying for this opportunity he attended WBA football stadium for a tour and a kick about with other applicants and then he met the head of the HFA.

“The support I have received from Mayday has been amazing and I find it hard to believe how my life has changed in such a positive way. The commitment and determination I have towards achieving my dreams is undeniable and I have never committed to something so much in my life. To be picked to do something you love and do it for your country is just amazing. I am over the moon.”

“Who knows where this may take me”

Tom is now in Portugal representing his country and on his return he will be preparing for his coaching course. Tom would like to get scouted and he knows that Mayday will support him in his choices for the future. He is grateful for everything that they have done to help him so far. Tom would like to move out into his own place and get a career relevant to the things he loves (Football) and he is well on his way to making this not only a dream but a reality.

 

Interview by Fiona McCance - Mayday Reporter & Intrepid Explorer - 06/2013

Interview with Pablo from Northampton

Pablo from Broadmead Court Mayday Trust is 21 years old and has been living in Mayday accommodation for 1 ½ years.  He thinks that the idea behind the changes is good and can’t wait to see how they will benefit residents in their future.

Pablo would like to get further education and he is aware that the staff of Mayday Trust can help him in achieving this by helping him to look for relevant courses that are available to him. Since coming to Mayday Pablo has been offered opportunities to take part in activities of interest to him and has now been given the opportunity to set up an exercise club and is looking at setting up a venue for this outside of the Mayday accommodation. He is very excited about being able to take the responsibility of researching cost of gym equipment and potential venues for the residents to use as a gym. He has set up a workout routine for his friends to help them to achieve what they want from the club. An example of this is one of his friends would like to work on losing weight so Pablo has organised a programme for them to do which focuses on cardiovascular exercises to increase the heart rate and burn the fat, another one of his friends has said that they would like to strengthen their arm and core muscles so he has set up a programme to target what they want to achieve.

Interview by Fiona McCance - Intrepid Explorer & Mayday Reporter - 06/2013

Interview with Kayleigh from Northampton

Kayleigh from Broadmead Court, Mayday Trust is 21 and has been living in Mayday Trust accommodation for just over a year. Since living there she has taken part in a cake decoration course and a journalism opportunity with Mayday Trust and Foyer Federation.  Mayday Trust has helped to access these courses by lending her the money to enrol on her cake decoration course and organising travel and other opportunities for the journalism. Kayleigh said

“Mayday really helped me in getting further skills and experience in the areas i like, and have helped me to make a portfolio of all of my work to add to my CV for when i look for employment”

she would like to continue doing cake decorating in the future and aspires to one day having a business of her own in this field. Kayleigh appreciates the encouragement and support she has received from the staff at Mayday and believes that if they were to continue to do this she will be able to complete her course and apply for the next level.

When Kayleigh arrived at Mayday she was dependant on alcohol and was very negative about the future. Kayleigh explained that the staff had encouraged her to get help with her drinking and referred her to The Bridge Programme where she received peer support and professional advice as and when needed. The Bridge Programme helps people who have or have previously had issues around drug and alcohol misuse. Kayleigh had access to gym equipment and workshops set up by Bridge and feels that this helped her to stay off the alcohol and distract her from temptation. Now Kayleigh has not drunk for a long period of time and is positive about where her future may take her.

Kayleigh is currently on ESA and DLA and Mayday helped Kayleigh in applying for DLA by filling out the forms with her. On one occasion Kayleigh did not receive her benefits when she expected to get them and Mayday staff supported her while she got in contact with the Job Centre to find out why she hadn’t been paid. Kayleigh explained that she did not need the staff to make the call for her but she felt she needed someone to stay with her while she made the call so that she knew if there was a problem she would be able ask for the staff to support her. This has helped Kayleigh in being confident with dealing with her issues independently and can now communicate effectively with organisations if there is an issue on her own.

Since arriving at Mayday Kayleigh has made friends with a range of people from different walks of life and is happy to say she will keep in contact with them after moving out of Mayday accommodation.

The recent changes to Mayday have affected Kayleigh and although initially concerned about how the changes will affect her, she is confident that in the long term they will be very beneficial to all Mayday Trust residents. She believes that with the new system being very “person focused” it will help people to move in and out within a shorter period of time and that the residents will be able to work towards their ambitions in life.
 

Interview by Fiona McCance - Intrepid Explorer & Mayday Reporter 06/13

Interview with Nick from Bedford

I went to the Holman House on 1^st July for the official launch and got the chance to interview one of the new residents.

Nick is 17 and has been living at Holman House for 6 weeks. Nick didn't experience the changes to Mayday Trust and didn't see Stephen Ross House but said that Holman House was a really nice and clean place to live. He has helped to work on the garden and helped to put up the tables in the garden area. Nick came to Mayday following a family breakdown and before coming to Mayday he was very isolated and stayed in his bedroom most of the time but now he has made friends with the other residents and they regularly get together in the garden and chat and chill out or in the lounge to watch TV together. Since coming to Mayday accomodation he has been supported in accessing courses relevant to his aspirations. When Nick came to Mayday he told the staff that he had interests in becoming a DJ and they helped him to search for opportunities to get experience and skills. Nick said that he hopes to go to college to study music technology and the staff at Mayday are helping him to look at what courses are available to him at his local college. He also told me that he likes to rap and sometimes makes up his own music but mainly likes to copy work of others. This is something that he would like to continue doing and would one day like to record his work in a studio. Mayday has provided Holman House with a tablet for residents to use. They can book the tablet for an hour at a time where they can access the internet, Nick really likes this because it means he can look for courses and other activities he may be interested in taking part in.

Overall Nick is glad Mayday has helped him and is keen to take part in activities that Mayday are providing so he can get better life skills and also continue with his hobbies.

 

Interview by Fiona McCance - Intrepid Explorer & Mayday Reporter 07/2013

Interview with Rebecca about her aspirations in life

Rebecca from Northampton Mayday Trust, is 22 and has been living in Mayday accommodation for 6 months. Before coming to Mayday Rebecca was living in refuge and arrived at Mayday a very shy and timid young person that was sacred of what life was going to throw at her. After the support she has received from Mayday Trust she has now blossomed into a confident and assertive person who has clear ideas and aspirations of what she wants from her future. Rebecca’s lifelong dream is to work with animals of all shapes and sizes. She told the staff at Mayday about her dreams and is now looking for courses on animal care with her mentor and is looking to apply for a course at the local college for September enrolment.  Rebecca has recently found herself a voluntary job at Cancer Research Charity Shop with help from the Job Centre and encouragement from Mayday. Mayday has helped her to budget her money so she can afford to pay for public transport to and from the shop daily and have encouraged her to continue with it even though it is no longer compulsory that she completes it.

Rebecca knows that in order to achieve her goal of working with animals she can ask staff at Mayday to signpost her and support her in courses relevant to her dreams and abilities. Rebecca has set herself a target of achieving the first milestone in her action plan by September this year and is much more open in discussing her ambitions in life.

“I realise now no one can help me if I don’t tell them what I want. If I don’t ask I will never get and so many things have come from me opening up to my mentor about what I want to do. I don’t want to be getting a job behind the counter at Tesco full time I want to be different to others and I want to do what I have always wanted to do. I love animals so much and they make me feel happy and that’s why I want to work with them.”

Rebecca has also got other aspirations in life that she would like to achieve but the most important other than working with animals is being able to look after her young niece without having her family “watching over my shoulder all the time.” After living at Mayday Rebecca has developed basic living skills and is now confident that she would be able to look after her niece on her own. This is so important to Rebecca because she doesn’t want to have children of her own but would like to be a part of her nieces.

Written by Fiona McCance - Mayday Reporter & Intrepid Explorer - 07/2013