With the belief that the young people of Haverhill deserve the best possible opportunities for training and reaching their full potential, the Youth Skills Manager was set up (initially by One Haverhill) in 2013.
The Youth Skills Manager, Karen Chapple, is now employed by HTC to work with young people, local businesses and organisations to enable a range of differing needs and aspirations are met.
Karen currently has the support of Youth Skills Advisor, Dan Cooke. Dan was introduced to the programme as a typical client who needed encouragement and lacked self confidence. In the early days he sometimes even struggled to leave home. By working with Dan, tapping into his skills and experiences and helping him understand where his strengths lay, Dan is now a great asset to the project. His naturally empathetic nature and and his personal understanding of overcoming barriers allow him to really connect with the clients.
Since April 2019 to date we have signed up and offered support to over 130 young people. Of this number 65 percent have moved on to employment, learning or training.
The success of the project is largely attributed to the partnership-working ethos. Good relationships have been formed with the local community, schools, further education colleges, training providers, services, businesses, and our young clients. Together we have proved we are stronger and better equipped to deal with differing needs and offer the best all round support package.
Mission Statement- “The right support at the right time can be life changing”.