The Foundry is providing an aspirational and inspirational environment for young people who are seeking to find their way into education, employment or training through West Ham United Foundation’s The Training Ground+ programme.
The Training Ground+ provides young men and women aged 16 to 25 with workshops and activities to build personal and interpersonal skills, support employability and offer volunteering opportunities.
Working with the Department for Work and Pensions, Jobcentre Plus, Street Soccer Foundation, Paragon and the Prince’s Trust, West Ham United Foundation offers weekly workshops, activities and mentoring, as well as practical work experience at The Foundry’s E6 Kitchen.
Employability Manager Rashid Abba explained: “The Training Ground programme is funded by the Premier League and the PFA as part of their community outreach work. It’s a 12-week programme about empowering young people between the ages of 16 to 25.
“The research shows that one in eight are not in education, employment or training and over a million young people are in that category, so what we’re trying to do is help local youngsters from boroughs of East London with their personal development plans.
“They come once a week and we do a workshop on topics like resilience, communication, self-esteem, personal growth or CV writing and work with our stakeholders.
“We then get them out on the pitch to do physical activity for their mental wellbeing as well and they get something to eat.
“We do 1-2-1 mentoring and group mentoring and invite them to careers events and job fairs and try to get them involved in football tournaments.
“Where we are based at The Foundry, it’s one of the most deprived boroughs in England and in Europe, so we’re trying to empower local young people because we believe they are the local solution because they understand the cultures, the demographics and the languages and dress codes, so they’ll be our visible role models going forward.
“They cannot connect with those local communities we serve, so it’s about empowering and ownership and The Foundry is about providing those opportunities.
“The Foundry can only enhance the programme and the facility enables us to get more partnerships and work with more major stakeholders. It’s an inspiring, aspirational environment.”
For more information about The Training Ground+, please email [email protected]
