At the end of the 2013/14 Coastal Communities project being delivered in East Lothian by TCV Scotland, STRiVE and East Lothian Council it is great to see that of the six young people in the programme this year all of them have managed to secure either employment (four) or further training (two) as a result of completing the year with us under the watchful eye of our Dave Alcorn.
The group have been busy doing brilliant practical work across East Lothian but focusing on the route of the John Muir Way from Musselburgh to Dunglass. From board walk and bridge construction to woodland management, from path creation and maintenance to invasive species control and management from drainage works to fence erection and dry stone dyking the group have turned their hand to a range of projects and gained new skills along the way. No job to small or too large and no task too tricky!
As well as achieving really useful practical and conservation outputs the young people have learned how to work together, improved communication skills, gathered real conservation, joinery and tool skills, dealt with Health and Safety issues and even supervised staff from Royal Bank of Scotland who were with TCV for a day as part of an employee action day and made sure their jobs were done properly!
Many of these skills and experiences have been backed up with tangible qualifications to confirm the achievements and progress made. Qualifications in trimmer use, tool maintenance, small tree felling, rural skills (dyking and wattle waving), health and safety, First Aid at Work and on outdoor play have all been collected along the way.
Dave Alcorn, TCV Volunteer Development Officer, said:
“The Coastal Communities gang have done some great work this year and learned new skills and a lot about themselves as they went along. We have been able to deal with all the challenges faced in the year and had a lot of fun and I’m really proud to have, in part, helped them along the way to employment and further training.”
As the recruitment for the 2014/15 year of Coastal Communities is underway and we look forward to welcoming a new set of eight recruits to the fold it is great to see the scheme giving these local young people a real helping hand into employment and training. We hope that a new funding proposal for 2015/16 will allow us to continue the success of the scheme into the future.
Callum Sinclair, TCV Director in Scotland added:
“The Coastal Communities project has been fantastic in 2013/14 and we hope will be as good or better in 2014/15. Seeing the work achieved and the employment and training rewards gained by these young people in East Lothain and along the John Muir Way has been brilliant. Many people and communities will benefit and gain enjoyment from the work as they complete the walk and it is great for TCV to have played a part in that success and, most importantly, of the successes of the young people in the programme.”
Congratulations to all the Coastal Communities graduates of 2013/14. All your hard work means you really deserve those jobs and training places. Well done.
More information at:
http://www.eastlothian.gov.uk/news/article/1275/coastal_communities_funding_win
http://www.centralscotlandgreennetwork.org/news-and-events/news/777-john-muir-way-opens