A HOVERCRAFT building day will see the number of school age pupils helped by Foundation for Jobs since its launch two years ago top 2,300.

The event, to which all seven maintained secondary schools in Darlington have been invited to send teams, will see the pupils work with students from the town’s Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, which is hosting the day, to build working hovercraft.

It is the second year that the event, on March 7th, has been held, with around 100 pupils again expected to participate, guided by a specialist team from Bradford University.

One of the key aims of Foundation for Jobs, a national award winning youth unemployment project, a joint initiative involving Darlington Borough Council, The Northern Echo and the Darlington Partnership, was to shape young people’s understanding of industries while they are still at school.

Many pupils were not fully aware of which industries are set to create the most jobs in the North-East in the years to come or they had outdated perceptions of those industries.

They included sectors such as engineering, tourism and the digital industries.

With engineering, a major North East employer, set to face significant skills gaps Foundation for Jobs launched a series of events including the hovercraft building day.

The aim is to give the pupils a hands on introduction to the practical and problem solving skills required in engineering, which many had previously envisaged as low skilled and dirty.

It has been proven that young people who have contact with industry while at school are up to five times less likely to be unemployed at the age of 25.
To increase young people’s understanding of apprenticeships we took apprentices from local firms such as Darchem Engineering into schools to share their experiences.

Low Carbon Engineering and bridge building events have involved hundreds of young people from Darlington schools working alongside organisations such as Cummins and the Institution of Civil Engineering.

Other projects have seen pupils design digital Apps, work with Durham Tees Valley Airport on a tourism activity, develop their entrepreneurial skills with Virgin Money and receive guidance from a range of firms including Rockliffe Hall and The Student Loans Company.

A Foundation for Jobs spokesman said: “Scores of firms have supported Foundation for Jobs, with many more becoming involved all the time. They give their time freely, all with the aim of helping our young people and it is greatly appreciated.

“Their support has inspired hundreds of young people at various stages of their academic lives whether that is helping to guide them in their GCSE options or what options are open to them for further education, training and employment when they leave school.”