We’re delighted to share The Herald’s and Evening Times’ latest articles which announce a huge commitment to the Young Glasgow Talent programme from our friends over at The Wheatley Group.
The Wheatley Group has been a fantastic partner in our goal of helping every care experienced and disadvantaged young person in Glasgow to find, grow and use their talents. The Group has been extremely proactive in encouraging their staff to become mentors, as well as offering Talent Tasters, to Glasgow’s youngsters. They have now even contributed a number of their own staff to help us establish our full Talent Taster programme, demonstrating further their unbelievable commitment of time and resources to our cause.
The partnership is going even further. Often when young people leave the care system, they can struggle to get the information necessary for them to access the housing and help they are entitled to. We are determined to change this.
Our YGT young people will be even better supported for life once school ends, and that our support does not stop once they leave education. This amazing commitment shows Wheatley as a shining and inspiring example of what can be achieved.
Thank you Wheatley!
Our Young Glasgow Talent programme now runs in more Glasgow schools than ever before and will be in every secondary school over the next 3 years! We have more Young People signing up for YGT’s help who need mentors to make a huge difference to their confidence, educational outcomes and future life chances.
Can you help them? CLICK HERE to find out more about becoming a mentor.
Do you know someone else that could join our amazing programme? CLICK HERE to share our blog with friends, family and colleagues that you think would be perfect to help Glasgow’s young people and help us spread the word!
If you think that an organisation you work for, manage, or know, could contribute to Young Glasgow Talent then let us know! There are loads of ways companies can get involved, from offering staff the rewarding opportunity to mentor, to running Talent Tasters. We are always open to suggestions, too.
If you think of something fantastic (like The Wheatley pledge) that we haven’t, please let us know! Visit our ‘Other Ways’ page to find out more.
You can read the full The Herald article below:
Pioneering mentor project gets new backing
A MAJOR project which seeks to help disadvantaged young people reach their potential in life has joined forces with one of Scotland’s biggest companies.
MCR Pathways provides adult mentors for children who have experience of the care system, and is forming a partnership with housing and care provider The Wheatley Group.
The company is the latest to sign up to encourage staff to become mentors, joining businesses and public bodies such as Glasgow Life, Strathclyde University, Santander, Glasgow Kelvin College, the SECC and Glasgow Chamber of Commerce.
As well as providing mentors, it will also spearhead a new scheme dubbed Talent Tasters, a form of work experience designed to gently introduced pupils to aspects of life in the workplace.
Pupils start at entry level jobs for half a day or shift, moving on to the next level with a team leader, supervisor or specialist for an hour and a third level the head of an organisation.
MCR Pathways, which is supported by The Herald, has been working for several years in six schools in Glasgow, and recently launched its Young Glasgow Talent YGT campaign with plans to expand across the city.
It helps raise the aspirations of young pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds by providing mentors who give one-to-one support and advice on how to access careers or a place in further education.
Wheatley and MCR will also work to ensure that young people can access Housing information through specialists who will visit schools to make sure young people understand their rights and ensure support is accessible when needed.
Three senior members of staff from Wheatley will to work full time with MCR Pathways for the next year to help build up the citywide plan.
Martin Armstrong, Wheatley CEO, said: “We have been working with Iain and his team for the last 18 months and this announcement is the accumulation of many discussions, developments, trials and some highly innovative initiatives.
“Our staff are already mentoring, but we are now extending the support through the MCR Pathways Talent Taster programme. Young people can have the choice to go and try out our wide range of jobs at various levels to see if it is something that could inspire and motivate them to consider as a future career.”
He added: “The fundamental difference is we are doing this in a way that is sustainable for both our group and young people. It is stimulating both our staff and young people through showcasing a variety of housing, care and property management roles that make up our group.
“The MCR philosophy of ‘younger, wider’ is a highly effective approach we know works and also support our young people before they become vulnerable or in crisis.”
The three-year year plan will target the recruitment of over 1000 mentors and other volunteers, and will be built on the success of an initial appeal backed by The Herald which attracted more than 750 people to register and become involved with MCR Pathways.
MCR founder Iain MacRitchie said: “This partnership is simply pioneering in every respect. Wheatley Group is a fabulous example of what can immediately impact and greatly enhance every participant and in a way that is sustainable over the long term.
“Young people, company staff, mentors, schools and the companies themselves are all hugely positive after the tasters and all getting benefit form the experience.
“We are very grateful for the enthusiasm and support of the staff that are committed to driving through the changes and huge benefits for our young people.”
Note: The above article and associated photography is © Copyright 2016 Herald & Times Group. All rights reserved. This article was originally published on www.heraldonline.com on 10th February 2016 and has been reprinted with permission.
You can also read the full Evening Times article below:
Help to get youngsters into work
A project that seeks to help disadvantaged young people reach their potential in life has joined forces with one of Scotland’s biggest companies. MCR Pathways provides adult mentors for children who have experience of the care system and is forming a partnership with housing and care provider The Wheatley Group.
The company is the latest to sign up to encourage staff to become mentors, joining businesses and public bodies such as Glasgow Life, Strathclyde University, Santander, Glasgow Kelvin College, the SECC and Glasgow Chamber of Commerce. It will also spearhead a new scheme dubbed Talent Tasters, a form of work experience designed to introduce pupils to aspects of life in the workplace.
Pupils start at entry-level jobs for half a day or shift, moving on to the next level with a team leader, supervisor or specialist for an hour and a third level: the head of an organisation.
MCR Pathways has been working for several years in six schools in Glasgow, and recently launched its Young Glasgow Talent YGT campaign with plans to expand.
It helps raise the aspirations of young pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds by providing mentors who give one-to-one support on how to access careers or a place in further education.
Martin Armstrong, Wheatley CEO, said: “Our staff are already mentoring, but we are now extending the support through the MCR Pathways Talent Taster programme. Young people can go and try out our wide range of jobs at various levels to see if it is something that could inspire them to consider as a future career.”
Note: The above article and associated photography is © Copyright 2016 Herald & Times Group. All rights reserved. This article was originally published on www.heraldonline.com on 10th February 2016 and has been reprinted with permission.
