YMCA offers NCS Pathfinder opportunity

YMCA Humber has partnered with counterparts in Bradford to offer young people in North East Lincolnshire a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take part in the National Citizen Service (NCS) pathfinder programme.

The programme is open to young people who were aged 16-17 on 31 August 2016 and are not over 17 by 27 October and have not taken part in an NCS programme before. There are 11-14 places available on the programme.

Building on the success of NCS’ current network of delivery partners, NCS Trust launched the pathfinder programme last month, looking for organisations to test new approaches to deepen NCS’ reach into all communities by recruiting via channels outside of mainstream schools and colleges.

The programme is designed to tackle three key issues; social cohesion, social engagement and social mobility

Young people that participate in the programme will be signing up for:

• A three-day residential at YMCA Lakeside, an outward bound centre in Windermere - travelling down on Sunday 23 October and returning on Wednesday 26 October
• 3 days of local activities organised by the YMCA – This 3 day programme will run from Thursday 27^th October and is likely to include some work to get an understanding of communities, volunteering and local businesses.
• 30 hours social action, which will be for the participants to plan in the second phase of the project and to carry out between the end of phase 2 and the 31^st December.

John Manton, YMCA Humber Contracts Manager said: "On this government backed programme, participants build skills for work and life, while taking on new challenges and adventures, making new friends, and contributing to their community. Not only do 16 and 17 year olds have the chance to give something back, but it looks great on CVs and UCAS recommends referencing NCS on personal statements."

Michael Lynas, Chief Executive of NCS Trust, added: “NCS Trust believes in working in partnership with a wide range of organisations to deliver NCS.

"We know how hard our current partners are working to deliver significant growth and over-representation among hard-to-reach groups.

"As NCS grows, we want to build on this success, growing our network of partners to help us deliver high quality programmes and expanding our reach into all communities.

"The lessons learnt from these pathfinders will help us to shape delivery of NCS as we grow, so that we can continue to invest in local areas, reach young people from all backgrounds and deliver a life changing experience.

"We look forward to continuing to innovate and learn with more initiatives like this in the months and years ahead as NCS continues to reach deeper into communities."