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Young People take up African Challenge with ng homes

As part of our continued partnership with African Challenge Scotland, ng homes provided a unique opportunity for young people to undertake a comprehensive work experience programme across a full week over the summer period.

African Challenge Placement, Phillipa Oguezue pictured with Ronier Deumeni, Robert Tamburrini and Tony Sweeney.

The innovative pilot programme was designed to allow young people to learn about the different types of jobs within the Housing Association and to work alongside various teams. All of the young people received an induction into ng homes undertaking a tour of the area looking at the varied housing types and getting some knowledge of the local environment.

The participants spent time in the various departments which gave them an overview of the customer care centre, reception, general administration, fi nance, banking, repairs, housing services, investment, regeneration, governance, media, human resources and organisational development.

At the end of the weekly programme the participants met with Robert Tamburrini, CEO of ng homes and the President of African Challenge Scotland, Ronier Deumeni, to review their experience and give them the opportunity to discuss any specifi c highlights or questions. CEO of ng homes, Robert Tamburrini said: “We have been working with African Challenge Scotland for a few years now and this programme is a natural progression. It offers young people the opportunity to experience the day to day running of a housing association which will stand them in good stead should they wish to pursue a career in housing”.

Tony Sweeney, Head of Corporate Services at ng homes said: “The programme was designed to help to build the confi dence of the young people taking part and to provide them with the opportunity to meet with people and to develop skills and an awareness of the workplace. The feedback from the participants has been extremely positive and it was also a great experience for our staff who enjoyed meeting and working with the young people.”

Ronier Deumeni, President of African Challenge Scotland said: “This is an amazing opportunity for our young people to gain the valuable skills and experience they need for their future career and we praise ng homes for their continuous support and together we want to make North Glasgow a positive place to live, work and invest; where everyone in the community is well integrated and enjoys equal opportunities.”

All participants said that taking part in the programme had been rewarding and was a very positive experience and a visit to the Scottish Parliament is being planned to celebrate the success of the programme and to inform elected MSP’s of the progress of the young people.

COMMUNITY MEMBERS GET ACTIVATED

A further 14 local people recently completed the Activate community development programme supported by ng homes and delivered by Tutors from Glasgow University. Activate is a communitybased introduction to community development taking place over a period of 10 weeks for 3 hours per week at local community venues. It strengthens local networks and people attending get a chance to listen to each other and see different ways of working together.

Those participating included ng homes staff and board members, community volunteers and graduates from the Pitstops programme. The Activate programme is very useful as a ‘stand alone’ course and is also a progression route into further and higher education with Glasgow Kelvin College and Glasgow University

Board member, Jim Berrington, who recently undertook the course said: “It was an excellent course and we learned a lot about teamwork. It was good to refl ect on important issues and was very educational. The tutor was very knowledgeable and helping us to express ourselves. It was a good opportunity to work alongside people of different ages and backgrounds. I would recommend it to anyone”.

Regeneration Manager for ng homes Margaret Fraser said: “We are committed to working with the University of Glasgow in developing community activists through this programme and we congratulate the latest participants on completing the Activate course.”

A further Activate course is planned to take place from January 2017 in partnership with Glasgow University and Scottish Government.

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