In November, we had a group of young women take part in our Nails and Beauty training. Most of these participants were young and/or single parents, and had been facing barriers to learning due to their personal circumstances. Within Ashton Community Trust we were able to access childcare though Kinder-Kids, for all of these young mothers’ children. This also encouraged them to participate, safe in the knowledge that their children were being professionally looked after. We also were able to provide taxi transport to and from the centres.
Some of the young women were new to the area and faced social isolation. This made some of them nervous about starting the programme. Furthermore, all of them had not been in a formal learning environment for several years due to their parental responsibilities!
However as soon as they felt settled into the CORE Programme training, they quickly forgot about their initial nervousness, relaxed and began to enjoy themselves….
We had eleven Participants start the programme, nine of these girls completed the full training and achieved three accreditations at Level 1, in Nails & Beauty. Since then, one girl has gone on to develop her skills by offering beauty treatments to friends and family. She frequently posts pictures of her gorgeous work online. This is a sample:
An example of the nail art:
Furthermore, four of the girls have progressed on to other projects, including three who will be working towards their Make-up Artistry Diplomas! Two more are hoping to study Beauty Therapy full time in NRC from September. All are very excited about starting further education. We wish them all well in this.
While these outcomes are undoubtedly fantastic, the real cause for celebration here has to be the change in the young women who participated in the training. Not only are they more confident people, with goals for the future, but they have also found a great support network in each other and have formed solid friendships. The girls who were, at the outset, too nervous to speak to each other, are now meeting up socially, sharing childcare and generally putting their new found friendships to good use.
The feedback taken after the CORE participation and following their training has also evidenced their positivity towards the CORE Programme. Since joining CORE they have all recommended the CORE Programme to others, who have also signed up to CORE! So….. A big well done to all of these girls!
We are now planning a celebration event on Valentine’s Day this year, so the ladies who look after everyone else, can be pampered themselves for a least one day! Why not! A well earned ‘Love Yourself Day’….
If you are aged 16 – 24, not in Education Employment or Training?
Call the ‘CORE’ Employment & Training team to discuss your options!
In the CORE project we can provide careers guidance, assistance in finding employment with 1:1 support from the team of mentors and staff. Contact us to find out more!
TEL: 028 95609522 EMAIL: john.mccrea@ashtoncentre.com