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GQA in partnership with ‘ Nobody Left Behind ’ initiative
» GQA QUALIFICATIONS , THE awarding and qualifications-writing organisation is lending its support to a progressive and life-changing initiative for young people called ‘ Nobody Left Behind ’. The scheme combines community sports programmes with construction-related training and qualifications to improve young people ’ s employment prospects for entry-level construction industry roles .
Nobody Left Behind works with groups of young people who have predominantly been social care service users , and gives support to try and steer them away from dropping into gang culture .
Following a four-week programme of community sports training with household name sports stars , students move on to work towards gaining GQA ’ s Level 1 Award in Construction Health and Safety and the GQA green general construction site Labourer ’ s CSCS card , as well as H & S- related training such as manual handling and traffic marshalling , all accredited through GQA . Civil Engineering Careers , the agency championing the work-related training then facilitates interviews with construction employers who look to offer employment opportunities to programme participants .
GQA ’ s Technical Officer , Phil Douglas , says :
“ I noticed posts in my local area in Liverpool for community boxing camps , and having been involved in amateur boxing myself at schoolboy level , and also being a boxing fan , I started to find out more about this project . I reached out to and met with the initiative ’ s team , and it was clear that GQA would be a good fit for the learning element of the programme . We have rapidly built a good working relationship , and have supported the scheme in its development .
“ I ’ m pleased to be working with the programme and its participants , helping them to benefit from GQA-accredited qualifications , CSCS cards and certificates . In addition , I ’ m happy to report that GQA and Building Our Skills - Making Fenestration , Glass and Glazing a Career of Choice have provided sponsorship support to help the programme get off the ground . We ’ ve donated towards a minibus that the initiative needs to help transport young people from further across the area , and we have been very pleased to be able to help in this small way . We have also been asked about development into other sectors in which we work .
“ I understand that Nobody Left Behind has set itself the challenge of getting 1,000 young people into employment in the next four years , and that ’ s a goal we ’ re honoured to get fully behind . It ’ s a pleasure to see the sense of achievement on the faces of the young people when they are told they have passed their CSCS card test , and the joy in their voices when they tell their friends “ I ’ m starting work on Monday .” The initiative is a perfect fit with GQA ’ s philosophy of people development .”
Barbara Travis , MD of CE Careers who heads up the initiative says :
“ As we progress , we will be offering multi-sports including boxing , football , rugby , cycling and hiking . We are offering female-only sessions in boxing with the hope of encouraging more girls to look at construction as a potential career choice , and football camps for both boys and girls with ex Liverpool and England footballers . GQA are a key part of our growth , and a partner that we are immensely happy with as our awarding body .”
Nobody Left Behind is attracting the backing of senior politicians across the Merseyside region , and its aims are a perfect fit with the Liverpool City Region Growth Plan 2021-24 . In addition , wellknown sports people are using their platforms to raise awareness of how sport can play a key role in the motivation , training and support of young people trying to find their way to employment .
Detective Superintendent Siobhan Gainer , Head of the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership said :
“ The progression and employment rate through this initiative is way above the national average for courses such as this . I think its success is down to the fact that it has found such a popular way of engaging young people through sport , and that this has worked hand-in-glove with the opportunity to gain training and qualifications that demonstrably lead to work . Having an employer and a specialist in training has been crucial , and it has both raised the bar for other courses and profoundly changed the course of young peoples ’ lives .”
www . gqaqualifications . com
68 AUGUST 2022 CLEARVIEW-UK . COM