NextGen - Meaningful Work Experiences in action!

Over the past few months, PIE has been running the NextGen programme, providing work experience across 5 different organisations for young people in Stockport.

In partnership with ourselves, MakeGood, Friendly Fridays, Marbury Road Edible Garden and Starting Point Community Learning Partnership we ran 1 day work experience at each organisation offering a range of activities such as: DIY, supporting people in the community with technology questions and attending Friendly Friday sessions. Here's a taste of what was involved!

Friendly Fridays:

• Young people were split into groups of 3 to attend different sessions 

• The young people had to arrive early to help set up the session for the day, which involved anything ranging from putting blankets on chairs to setting out games for people to enjoy.

• Both sessions were totally different, the first one was more multigenerational and the second was aimed towards children and families as it was half term!

• Some young people assisted in the kitchen, preparing food and making sure everyone had got the correct thing.

• At the half term session, the young people were stationed on the lego table, creating different things with the children (and adults) who were building with it.

  
  

Starting Point:

• We started with a condensed form of Starting Points Digital Champion training where we spent a day at their shop in Woodley precinct learning about digital exclusion and how we can help prevent/manage it.

• A week later, the young people had the opportunity to support at one of starting points community drop in sessions at the Cornerstone building in Stockport.

• We spent a few hours supporting the community with any technology questions they had which ranged from creating accounts on platforms to sending an email to their friends or family. We also spent time just chatting with them which led to learning about their backgrounds and other things about them!

  
  

Marbury Road Edible Garden:

• Despite the extremely rainy and cold weather, our young people went to Marbury Road Edible Garden to do some outdoor work experience.

• We spent the morning creating some ‘wellness bags’ with dried lavender and candles and then we spent the afternoon mapping out an ecological survey, planned where seeds should be planted and looked at what animals are living in the nearby area.

  
  

MakeGood:

• At MakeGood, we spent 2 days doing DIY in their shop. We started the day by fuelling up on teas and coffee and then dove straight into building a wooden divider, stripping a windowsill and then filling with damp seal and painting the walls and planter outside.

• Day 2 was spent in a similar way, but mainly tidying up the mess from the day before and finishing off any other little bits, such as removing any excess paint and ensuring the wooden divider fits where it should, the planter also got filled ready to do some planting!

  
  

PIE:

• The young people on the programme were invited to attend our last networking session where they got a chance to take part in the discussions and make connections with employers across Stockport. 

• We then invited them to our office to attend a feedback session and then do some video recording for how the programme has been for them, keep an eye out for those!

The young people learnt a lot of transferable skills that they can use going forward and we have received really positive feedback from all the young people involved including: 

“you could get a lot done whilst building up your socialising skills” 

"everyone was good with taking their time to explain stuff if you didn't understand anything”

“Its given me new connections in the Stockport community”

“The volunteering made me feel helpful and like I was doing good work”

“ this has also been a great contribution to my CV and has been productive for me whilst I look for a job.”

NextGen Stockport is PIE’s inclusive work experience programme, designed for young people for whom traditional placements may not be accessible, suitable or realistic. It also helps organisations offer meaningful opportunities in a more flexible and supported way.