Skills Programmes Round-Up

It’s been an outstanding year for The Harlequins Foundation across our skills programmes, with a number of our programmes making a hugely impactful contribution to the lives of young people in the Harlequins Heartlands and beyond.??

Overview of the year: Education & Skills Development??

HITZ??

HITZ is Premiership Rugby’s award-winning education and employability programme, which is designed for young people to take an alternative approach to education for those who may not have a positive pathway into education after leaving school. This season, The Harlequins Foundation has taken on several young people, with 21 completing the HITZ programme. ?

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Stevie Warr, the Skills Manager at The Harlequins Foundation said;??

“HITZ is a great course designed to provide help for NEET (not in education, employment or training) individual, and support them into the right future & career for them”?

We also want to wish our learners ?good luck in advance, with GCSE results day coming up later in the month.?

Apprenticeships??

Through our apprenticeships, one of the goals of The Harlequins Foundation this year was to carve pathways for young people in our local communities and give them access to educational opportunities that will lead to employment.???

Apprenticeship programmes are great for this as they offer people the chance to get hands-on experience and develop their craft in a sporting environment. ?

Foundation Degree??

Our two-year Foundation Degree programme has been designed for individuals wanting to attain a university qualification and are passionate about pursuing a career in the sports industry.???

The initial degree is a FdSc Sports Coaching and Development (2 years). Following this, there is also an opportunity to undertake a 1 year ‘top-up’ degree after completing this to gain a full degree (BSc).?

STEPS??

In partnership with ?Hounslow Local Authority, this was the first year of delivering STEPS at The Harlequins Foundation. ?

The programme was designed to support young people leaving care to develop the Essential Skills needed in order to thrive & succeed in life, and, in turn, feel ready for their next steps – be that education or employment Over 30 individuals have taken part in one of our STEPS sessions this year. ?

SUEZ??

Our employability programme in partnership with SUEZ has had a great first year, with 4 cohorts of with 6-8 individuals on each rotation. Each group spend 4 weeks on the programme - 2 weeks with The Harlequins Foundation and two weeks with SUEZ. ?

The Tutors at The Harlequins Foundation work with the groups to develop their Essential Skills needed to thrive and succeed in life. Sessions are specifically focussed on skills needed to interview and those used every day in the working world such as teamwork, communication and problem solving. ?

Stevie Warr, Skills Manager at The Foundation said; ?

“I am happy with the opportunities the programme has ?provided for young people, allowing them to experience job opportunities that they did not know existed.”?

One of our personal highlights??

There were many great highlights throughout the year, but one to remember was having our HITZ learners at Twickenham Stadium for the Premiership Rugby final!?

What’s to come??

BTEC Level 3 in Sports Coaching?

We are delighted to be launching our new BTEC Level 3 in Sports Coaching starting from the beginning of the academic year (September 2023). This programme will be primarily aimed at 16–18-year-olds, with the aim to offer young people a pathway to either complete their education or further it with a university degree. ?

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#COYQ #BuildingBrighterFutures??