Some young people who have finished either a Team or Get Into Programme have continued to volunteer on a long-term basis with the National Trust. Whilst helping the National Trust complete important work the young people have benefited from practical work experience, support and training.

Jo Walters: Kingston Lacy
Jo (17) participated in the Get into Landscaping and Gardening at Kingston lacy in Dorset and is now on a long-term placement at Kingston Lacy whilst she completes an Agricultural diploma at college.

Before starting the course Jo was trying to get into Kingston Maurward College to study agriculture. She was finding it difficult because you had to have work experience on a farm and other skills to get on a course. Then she heard about the course at Kingston Lacy through her friend Donna and it seemed like a good opportunity to get some skills.

After the course Jo chose to return to Home Farm at Kingston Lacy because she really enjoyed working there. She is now fulfilling her ambition, studying for the first Diploma in Agriculture and volunteering part time. She is practicing her skills through her placement and in the future would like to work on a farm full time.

Sam Smith: Heelis
Sam took part in a ‘Get into Admin’ programme at Heelis. When the Get Into finished in December Sam began a long-term placement within the Conservation department as part of their admin team. Sam’s role involves general admin tasks to aid the members of staff in the conservation team.This includes shredding, printing, ordering stationary, typing up notes, updating spread sheets and doing mail outs.

Sam says that the best thing about the placement is the experience he’s building up and the support he gets from Sarah and the others on the team. The worst thing is that some of the tasks can be long and boring but he’s getting used to it! The most challenging thing for Sam has been learning lots of new things and meeting lots of new people. Sam would like to pursue either a career in admin or something related to animals. He is currently looking into training that can help him with both personal development and more specific courses related to his interests.

Since taking up his placement Sam had been successful in getting a paid job, working two days a week with the Youth Offending team in Swindon.

Daniel Wright Ormesby Hall
After completing a Team programme with the Prince’s Trust Daniel visited Ormesby Hall with his granddad and discovered that there was another young person completing a long-term work placement in the gardens and grounds. Daniel enquired about the opportunity of another placement and is currently coming back each week under the supervision of Adam Cracknell, the Gardener Warden at Ormesby Hall.

Daniel has had a full briefing on all the tools used in maintaining the gardens at Ormesby and supports Adam and other volunteers to maintain this property’s character and beauty