June 2010
Breaking the cycle
Two inspirational youngsters from Newcastle
are cycling across the country to raise money for The Prince’s
Trust after the youth charity helped them get jobs.
Scott McGorie, 20, from Kenton and Timothy Simpson, 21, from
Heaton will set off from Ravenglass in Cumbria on 15th July,
cycling 174 miles along Hadrian’s Wall and finishing up in
Tynemouth on 16th July.
Money raised from the challenge will go to The Prince’s Trust,
helping other young people in the region turn their lives
around.
Timothy, who is currently working full-time, was unemployed for
two years before coming to The Trust. He said:”When I was
unemployed my confidence was very low. I used to find it hard to
talk to people which made job hunting difficult. I applied for
hundreds of jobs and each knock-back chipped away a bit more of my
confidence.”
Tim’s cycling partner Scott finished school at 16 and went to
college to study mechanics. He finished in 2008 but due to the
recession failed to find the apprenticeship he needed to
qualify.
He struggled to find permanent work for the next year and was
unemployed for seven months before coming to The Prince’s Trust for
help.
Tim and Scott both took part in The Trust’s 12-week personal
development course, Team, delivered in partnership with Tyne and
Wear Fire Service.
Team builds up participants’ confidence and motivation through a
series of team and community challenges. Team members are given
support with CVs and interview techniques and are signposted onto
work, education or training.
Whilst on the programme they also received enhanced one-to-one
mentoring from The Trust, this support was funded by Newcastle
Futures’ part of Newcastle Council’s Working Neighbourhoods Fund, a
dedicated fund to help the North East most deprived areas.
Timothy said: “The Trust made me get out there and meet new
people, to speak to members of the public and lead a team,
something I would have felt really uncomfortable doing before. The
Trust helped me to realise people weren’t difficult to talk to and
that increased my confidence massively.”
On week six of the programme Tim and Scott both completed a
two-week work placement at a local computer firm, Acorn Computers.
They impressed the staff there so much they were both offered
permanent jobs when they finished Team.
I’ve been here three months and already I am a
supervisor. I’m getting training and can see myself progressing in
the field. The Trust has given me a chance to get off the dole and
to have a career.
Scott McGorie
David Beavis, regional director for The Prince’s Trust in the
North East said: “Scott and Tim are a great example of young people
who have been given the right support at the right time.
“These lads have refused to sit back on the dole and have taken
the hard option to look at why they weren’t getting jobs and deal
with some of those issues. Now they are role models to other young
people in their area.”
You can donate to Tim and Scott’s challenge at
http://www.justgiving.co.uk/tim-simpson