Member Article

Youth recruitment agency plans traineeships

Unemployed youngsters throughout the North East are being offered exciting work experience and the chance to earn some cash.

South Shields based youth recruitment agency, Rising Star, in conjunction with South Tyneside Council and several of South Tyneside’s leading employers and training providers are offering ‘traineeships’ to motivated 16-19 year olds who are looking to get a foot on the ‘career ladder.’

The traineeships, which are designed for young people who want to work, but who need extra help and support to gain an apprenticeship or job, are in a number of sectors including; Engineering, Retail, Child & Adult Care, Construction, Culture & Heritage, IT, Conservation and Mentoring and Support Work.

Lasting up to 16 weeks, the traineeships will give the trainees valuable, certified, work experience in their chosen area, a chance to progress into an apprenticeship and qualifications in Maths and English.

The main thing that makes this recruitment campaign unique is that the trainees will be getting £50 a week, which is a great incentive that will no doubt make these vacancies extremely popular, with trainees possibly earning up to £800.

Not only will they making a substantial amount of money but they will also be gaining priceless work experience in a sector of their choice that will inevitably be very beneficial in getting them on their ideal career path.

Rising Star is looking to recruit up to 60 trainees across the whole of South Tyneside, with the successful candidates starting their roles in early June.

Rising Star is no stranger to this type of recruitment campaign as they have recruited many trainees for organisations including national construction firm Wilmott Dixon, North East based Gentoo and are currently in the process of selecting suitable candidates to undertake placements at Keepmoat Construction.

Adam Coulson, who attended the Willmott Dixon Rising Star Traineeship Recruitment Bootcamp, secured a full time position with national sub-contracting firm, Project Scaffolding after a successful spell as a trainee.

‘The Rising Star Bootcamp was fantastic! I was so focussed on doing well as I could see a genuine opportunity to secure a traineeship placement and at a nationwide construction firm, which made it even more appealing.’ said Adam.

’The whole Rising Star team were excellent! I got on with them really well. We could all have a laugh but when we needed to crack on with the work we did so. It was a good balance of fun and hard work.

‘I can’t thank the Rising Star team enough for their help and guidance, their support was invaluable to getting me where I am now.

‘They really helped me gain the skills I needed to get a job!’

Statistics for England show that from the first two quarters of the 2014/15 academic year there were 9,200 traineeship starts, which has almost surpassed the 10,400 traineeship starts for the entire 2013/14 academic year.

‘Traineeships are becoming a lot more popular with young people like myself who just need that a little bit of help to get them on the road to a successful career.’ continued Adam.

‘If you are enthusiastic, motivated and committed then landing that dream job should be just round the corner.’

Angela Anderson, Managing Director of Rising Star said: ’This is a fantastic project – bringing together leading training providers and employers, and providing young people with excellent opportunities to gain quality work experience and qualifications to help them move forward with the careers.

’The support from South Tyneside Council – initiating the project and supporting it with funding – means that the young people taking part will also receive a training allowance whilst gaining their work experience.

‘It’s a definitely a win: win situation!’

Councillor John Anglin, Lead Member for Regeneration and Economy, said: ’Work experience is a great way for young people to get a foot in the door and develop the skills that employers need.

’In South Tyneside, we are determined to keep investing in a better future for the Borough and that means creating opportunities for young people to achieve their goals and forge careers in their chosen field.

‘I’d encourage young people to seize this great opportunity and get involved in this initiative.’

Anyone who might be interested in these vacancies are advised to contact the Rising Star team on 0191 427 4651 or email enquiries@zenithrisingstar.com to express their interest. For more details on the vacancies visit the Rising Star website, www.zenithrisingstar.com.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Gordon Wallis .