Many properties are offering short term training courses and work placements, known as ‘Get Into…’ making use of their facilities and expertise in order to boost young people’s experience and employability. So far properties around the North East, East Midlands and South West have run Get into Administration and Customer Services, Gardening and Landscaping, Dry Stone Walling and Hospitality and Catering, providing young people with some real transferable skills required by employers in the relative job sectors. The job sectors have been specifically chosen as areas where the young people participating are likely to find vacancies and opportunities for further vocational training or employment.  

Get Into Administration and Customer Services: Heelis
Get Into Gardening and Land Skills: Kingston Lacy
Get Into Customer Services: Calke Abbey
Get Into Customer Services: Cotehele
Get Into Heritage Construction: Tyntesfield
Get Into Dry Stone Walling: Ormesby Hall

Get Into Administration and Customer Services: Heelis
With hundreds of office staff, a shop and a café, the National Trust Central Office, Heelis, was well placed to offer a Get Into Admininstration and Customer Services Course. Young people completed two weeks vocational training. They began with a ‘speed dating’ exercise where they got to talk to members of staff from different departments about their role in the organisation. They then took part in workshops where they gained skills and certificates in First Aid, Food Hygeine, ECDL, Customer Care and Manual Handling and therefore had some great attributes to take on into future job interviews. The third week was a work placement in the central office. Many have continued to volunteer at Heelis or have been mentored by National Trust staff to help support and guide them into employment. The participants’ sense of self worth, achievement and prestige was boosted enormously by having the chance to experience, work and succeed in the National Trust’s central office.

Get Into Gardening and Land Skills: Kingston Lacy
At Kinston Lacy young people took part in two weeks of training and a week’s work placement. A specialist agricultural skills training company, Dorset Training, was engaged to deliver Chainsaw, Brush cutting Tractor Driving and Fencing courses that resulted in the award of a LANTRA Qualification. The course participants produced an impressive presentation at the end of their time at Kingston Lacy showcasing of practical skills and achievements on the work placement, tour and taster of the whole experience to a high turnout of friends and family who will continue to support the participants on their journey towards employment.
One young person from the course has commenced a first diploma in Agriculture at Kingston Maurward college and is completing her work based placement at Kingston Lacy.

Get Into Customer Services: Calke Abbey
The property was identified as an ideal work placement for customer service as the young people had a chance to gain ‘practical experience on tills, stock rotation, industrial kitchens and reception.’ The Prince’s Trust staff we really impressed with the quality of the work placement opportunities offered at the property and commented especially that “the staff support was excellent, with them showing empathy, tolerance and enthusiasm throughout. Stewart Alcock the property manager was always helpful”

Get Into Customer Services: Cotehele
An advantage of this site was the ability to “visit two National Trust sites and reflect on the differences in approach on delivery and identifying customer needs.” As this was the first contact most of the young people had with the Trust, “this helped breakdown the stereotypes young people perceive at National Trust sites.” Once again the staff had a huge role on the success of these placements as they ‘made all the clients welcome, providing thorough support and very positive comments regarding the young people. (Cotehele final report)

Get Into Heritage Construction: Tyntesfield
Tyntesfield was a brilliant venue for this 3 week course as it is an active, living and unique work site which the group responded to really well. A real highlight during the first week was the Bat Talk provided by the Head of Nature Conservation followed by a trip to the local brick factory. The group was really proactive and engaged with this session!

During the second week we worked with Dorset Rural Skills, who delivered the practical brick laying aspect of the course. The project the group were working on was rebuilding the Cold Frames in Tyntesfield’s garden using traditional and heritage sensitive techniques. They worked hard to complete the brick laying in the third week as well as undertaking work shadowing with the contractors.

Everything came together on the last day with them all gaining their CSCS Card at Construction Site Operative Level which means they are ready to go out to work on any building site. The group are lucky to have worked on a project that will last for 100 years and they were really proud of the legacy they had left. One young person told his mentor recently that the course was better than the 6 months course he did at college which I think is a real credit to the project and the Getting into the Past partnership.

Get Into Dry Stone Walling: Ormesby Hall
The young men on this course spent five weeks in the great outdoors, learning new skills and putting them into practice. After practicing on a Ha-ha wall at Ormesby Hall they learnt the traditional trade of dry stone walling out on the North Yorkshire Moors, raising their employability in this trade sector. Under the supervision of a qualified dry stone walling instructor from Stockton College they gained experience in a practical working environment.

At the end of the course the successful students were awarded with a Level 1 Lantra qualification, a nationally recognised achievement. One of the young men continued to volunteer with the Gardener Warden at Ormesby Hall gaining extra training and experience.