We at the Steps School Completion Programme (run by the TUSLA Education Support Service) think the Access to Apprenticeships course at TUS is brilliant. The young people we work with are all from disadvantaged areas and find it hard to gain employment or would not have any connections with companies that they would like to do apprenticeships with.
This course has opened so many doors for them and allowed them to feel wanted and build up their confidence in themselves. Also, it prepares them for the workplace and that is very important. We can see this in the young people who came through our project and are now doing apprenticeships with plumbing, electrical and welding companies etc.
For young people to be able to try different trades is brilliant, as some have said they wanted to do one trade, but when they tried it, they realized it wasn’t for them and they went for the one that suited them best.
The buzz around our community and our workplace is great and we constantly have more young people enquiring about this course. A lot of this is around the feedback they are getting from the participants who have already completed this course and are on the path to a good career and they cannot speak highly enough about this and the staff running the course.