As well as providing a volunteer mentor for every care experienced young person in Glasgow, Young Glasgow Talent is committed to delivering Talent Tasters. Thanks to our phenomenal partners, businesses throughout Glasgow introduce our young people to a taste of the working world, in a field they’d like to work in.
These Taster opportunities build on the proven success of our volunteer mentoring programme by offering S3 and S4 young people the opportunity to try their hands at the jobs of their choice.
The experiences are immeasurable for confidence building and creating sparks of interest and motivation. Disadvantaged young people in Glasgow are getting the chance to find their talents and make a success of their lives.
The first Talent Taster of the 2016/17 academic year was delivered by Marshall Brown – a successful family-owned window fabrication business based in Bishopbriggs. The company manufactures doors, windows and fire screens – sometimes on a massive scale – for construction firms across the country.
The response from our young people was overwhelmingly positive, with one young man from Smithycroft Secondary saying he would like to follow this career path when he finishes school.
“My favourite part of the taster was learning about the machinery because it was complicated” YGT young person.
“The Taster went really well. My YGT young person is very interested in this as a future career now!” YGT Pathways Coordinator.
Talent Tasters are two to three hour sessions for small groups of young people from schools across Glasgow. The Tasters they attend are based on the young people’s own choices, helping them build a better understanding of what it takes to get their dream jobs.
Our pilot Tasters with partners such as Glasgow Life and The Herald throughout 2015/16 were extremely successful. Inspiring our young people. Providing them with a focus when they return to school. Knowing what to study at school and beyond to reach their desired pathway.
A huge THANK YOU to Marshall Brown for offering this opportunity to our young people. Please keep your eyes peeled for more news on our Taster programme over the next few weeks as more amazing Glasgow businesses open their doors to our utterly deserving young people.
We have more young people signing up for Young Glasgow Talent’s help. They need mentors to make a huge difference to their confidence, educational outcomes and future life chances. Can you help them? Find out more about becoming a mentor.
Can your organisation help? To become involved in our Talent Taster programme, alongside our partners such as The Herald, simply go to the Get Involved section of www.youngglasgowtalent.org.
We’re always looking for new mentors to reach all the new young people who are coming on board with the programme. Help us spread the word by letting your friends and family know how worthwhile mentoring can be!
