Rise in those seeking training

THE number of early school leavers seeking training and education is on the rise as they struggle to find work or college places, according to the head of a service in one of Cork’s most disadvantaged city communities.

The Glen Youthreach programme is marking 17 years in operation this month. It caters for 25 people aged between 15 and 20 who left mainstream second-level schooling early.

The support and training offered by the course, staffed by seven teachers and a youth worker, helps many of them go on to further education and work placement.

“It’s very rewarding to see our students taking up places which might not otherwise be available to them, particularly in further education and Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) courses,” said Glen Youthreach co-ordinator Ann O’Riordan.

“But we’re getting more and more people applying for places on our programme, particularly 19 and 20-year-olds who might have had other options in the past,” she said.

The options available for students after completing Youthreach are also more limited, as many of them took up apprenticeships but fewer opportunities exist in this area in the economic climate.

Around two-thirds of the Glen Youthreach participants are boys or young men, and most students are from the local community or nearby areas. The courses include Junior Certificate, Leaving Certificate Applied and qualifications in a range of areas, from horticulture to technology, with leisure and recreation extremely popular given the service’s location in temporary accommodation at the Glen Community Resource Centre with its outdoor soccer pitches and tennis courts.

Lord Mayor Cllr Dara Murphy praised the work of the programme during a visit yesterday to the Youthreach Centre, which Ms O’Riordan said they hope to vacate for nearby purpose-built accommodation in early 2011.

“We started out using just two flats in the Comeragh Park estate and moved to the Sunbeam industrial park in Blackpool until early last year, but it’s great to be back in the heart of the community we serve,” she said.

The Glen centre is one of five Youthreach services operated through City of Cork Vocational Education Committee (VEC).

Bev Cotton, spokeswoman for the National Association of Youthreach Co-ordinators, said the experience in the Glen reflects those of other Youthreach programmes around the country which have had a rise in applications from older teenagers who might previously have found unskilled jobs after leaving school.