NEWS ARCHIVE
Youth Group get a taste of Boatbuilding
Seven, 16-year olds from Mullion Youth Group visited Falmouth Marine School on Wednesday 21st January for a taste of wooden boatbuilding.
The Boatbuilding Taster Session, which took place from 2.30-4pm, gave the Youth Group an opportunity to try something new and make something which they could take home with them.
The aim of the session was to gauge participant engagement with the view of organising an extended six week course at the College. A similar course in Leisure & Watersports was organised for the Helston Youth Group last year. Their Youth Worker was so impressed with the activities on the course and the feedback from her group that she recommended the College to Vanessa Boase, Youth Manager at Mullion Youth & Community Centre, who contacted the College and set up the Taster. More tasters covering other courses may be set up for the group, before the six week course is finalised.
The Mullion Youth Worker Kylie Millar and a volunteer accompanied the group t College. Kylie commented: "They are all really pleased with the session and are all getting involved. There are not that many practical courses on offer to them where they live, so it's great to be able to show them that they do have opportunities to do what they like, close by. We try to show them the different ways in which they can get into the career of their choice, in some cases it is back to education. We try and offer them as many interesting activities as possible, so Taster Days such as these are brilliant, as they get firsthand experience of what they can be doing. It is much better than just telling them about the course. I'd definitely recommend the College to other Groups."
All seven participants were hugely keen and once they had listened to the introduction and Health & Safety talk given by Dave Johnson, Boatbuilding Tutor at the College, they all got straight into it.
One of the young men from the group, Jack said: "I'm really enjoying the session. It's really interesting. When I got here I knew nothing about woodwork or boatbuilding and I've already learnt loads. I am definitely thinking about applying to the Introduction to Boatbuilding Course."
Dave Johnson said: "The whole group have shown a lot of enthusiasm. Hopefully we've given them an insight into a practical trade that could lead to a future. They've all really enjoyed the hands-on side of it and maybe we'll see a few of them here in September."
Dave Linnell, Deputy Chief Executive of Cornwall College commented: "These short courses are a great way to help young people, raise their confidence levels and open their eyes to opportunities available to them. Giving students a real insight into courses, means they can see what is within their reach and a path to a brighter future."
