South Gloucestershire Council

Published: 25/03/2013

Run by South Gloucestershire Council alongside the Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust, and Lottery funded by Sport England, the programme aims to provide young people with the chance to enhance their confidence, self-belief and employability skills.

This is the second time Get On Track has been run in South Gloucestershire. Around 40 young people are taking part in the programme which began with a three day team building workshop at UWE on 12 March. This first stage helps inspire participants by placing them with an impressive line-up of sports stars who act as mentors. In South Gloucestershire these have included Beijing 2008 Paralympic swimmer Kate Grey from Tytherington, and triple jumper Vernon Samuels from Little Stoke, who competed in the Seoul Olympics in 1988.

The second stage sees young people undertaking sporting, school or community-based projects where they are challenged and placed in situations they’ve never been in before, such as workshops focussing on teamwork and interview skills. This stage also provides young people with the opportunity to explore potential careers across a range of industries. The programme concludes on Wednesday 1 May with an evening event celebrating the success of the attendees.

Jonathan Wheeler, Breakthrough Mentoring Coordinator at the council, said: “As well as gaining new skills, confidence and opportunities, participants also contribute to their community through give back projects and during the first programme, young people organised a day of go karting for younger children.

“The first Get On Track programme was a great success and two participants have already enjoyed the direct results of attending; Alex Bright successfully gained an apprenticeship in Sports Coaching and Daniel Peacock is working with adults with learning difficulties at Choices 4U.”

Vernon Samuels, Olympic triple jumper and Get On Track mentor, said: “I am really excited about this second Get On Track programme coming to the area. We have already seen what impact the programme can have, with many young people either getting back into education, or going on to secure jobs.

“As an athlete mentor on this programme, I am looking forward to drawing on my skills and experiences from competing at the highest level to help inspire this group to make positive changes to their lives."

New to this second round of Get On Track are partnerships with South Gloucestershire and Stroud College, Suited and Booted, and South Gloucestershire Sports Development, who will be offering training opportunities, employment skills and coaching qualifications.