Car repairs placement puts teenager on right road

Car repairs placement puts teenager on right road

A Warwickshire teenager who is one of the UK’s one million unemployed young people is doing all he can to turn his life around and develop his skills.

Drew Morris, aged 16, from Nuneaton, has been enjoying a placement at local company Auto Refurb Centre, Nuneaton, where he is gaining confidence and vital work experience.

The placement was organised by employment and training expert Pertemps People Development Group (PPDG) which has been helping Drew through the Foundation Learning initiative he attends.

Fears that young people are suffering the most in Britain's economic slowdown were underscored recently by figures from the Office for National Statistics showing there were 1.02 million unemployed 16 to 24-year-olds between July and September. One in five young people are now out of work.

Drew, was referred to Foundation Learning via the Youth Offending Service. Youth Offending no longer work with Drew, but have seen Drew at the centre and have commented on how he has developed in confidence and maturity.

PPDG team leader Chrissie Durham-Grant said: “We have seen a remarkable transformation; he has grown in confidence and now demonstrates a positive attitude about his future. His placement at Auto Refurb has been going very well.

“Drew was pretty typical of a young man struggling with adolescence. He wasn’t doing well at school and eventually he was excluded. He was very unsettled and low in confidence and came across as someone who could not care less.

“He was drawn to a group of young people in a similar situation and not engaged in very much which led to Drew and others getting into trouble.”

She added: “However, Drew has now been on Foundation Learning since July and with his new found confidence and self-belief has lead him to achieve three qualifications, and he is now working towards his fourth. Our team at Nuneaton have described Drew as a people person, a good time-keeper and a great person. With his new qualifications and work experience he is now in a much stronger position to go on and gain sustainable employment.”

Auto Refurb Centre, specialists in the car body repair business, is a local family run firm that has been established since 2009. The company prides itself on delivering a high quality service.

Managing director David Dunham said: “Despite Drew having no prior knowledge of the industry, his enthusiasm and his willingness to learn has made him a pleasure to train and work with.”

PPDG’s team of employment experts provides advice on benefits, confidence building, one-to-one support, CV and interview preparation as well as finding the right job or training course. In partnership with DWP, the Ministry of Justice and Jobcentre Plus, PPDG delivers a diverse range of employment and training initiatives and many programmes financed by the European Social Fund. PPDG came fourth in The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For 2011.