Reach the Heights: First Footholds
Artwork made by a young person during a Reach the Heights project at Oriel Myrddin with artist Tom GoddardReach the Heights was a Welsh Assembly Government initiative aimed at reducing the number of young people in Wales aged 11-19
years who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), or at risk of becoming so. The project was developed to take
advantage of the funding opportunities available from the European Social Fund (ESF) programme in Wales.
First Footholds focused on tackling the barriers that prevent young people remaining in school and moving on into further
education or employment. engage Cymru was awarded £24,950 through this project to manage four volunteer placement opportunities
in partnership with Oriel Myrddin, Carmarthen, and Aberystywth Arts Centre. Both venues worked alongside referral units and youth
support networks to devise relevant programmes of work for the young people, including curating, technical work, helping develop
youth-friendly gallery education programmes.
In addition to developing creative and workplace skills, young people gained other skills and benefits, including:
- Working as part of a team
- Regular attendance and increased responsibility
- Professional skills, including meeting deadlines
The projects ran until December 2010 and an evaluation report is available
here.
For details of engage's Visual Roots programme (2008-10, England) which worked with at-risk young people,
click here.
