Project Amman Valley Enterprise: Youth Engagement Location Neath-Port Talbot
Organised by Amman Valley Enterprise
Contact Sharon James Tel 01269 826267

Amman Valley Enterprise (AVE) worked with its local Communities First Partnership to provide training in website design to young people in Tairgwaith during the Easter school holidays.

The project marked the start of a wider youth engagement effort in the area, to help develop the career and social potential of 11-16 year-olds. The communities that the young people are a part of have experienced high levels of long term unemployment, resulting in social and economic problems for many people.

After working with its local Broker, AVE received funding from Communities @One to pay for an ICT (Information and Communication Technology) tutor to deliver a six-session training course, held in a relaxed environment at the local community centre.


Key achievements

- 16 young people, who had limited IT access, completed an informal training course on website research, design and construction. An element of online safety awareness was also built into the programme.
- The young trainees were each encouraged to develop a web page on a subject of their choice, to contribute to the construction of a live website.
- The young people involved said the course boosted their confidence and self-esteem; some said the course had improved their chances of getting a job in future years, while providing them with new skills to use in their community.

Lessons learned

- Working with a community newsletter meant the training was well marketed; and led to the newsletter being made available online.
- Informal chats during the training meant the young people could influence the direction and content of the course, to get the most out of it.
- More formal evaluation at the end of the training helped to develop the scope of future courses for young people in the area.

From a personal perspective

The group members completed anonymous questionnaires following the training course; some of the comments included:

“I found the tutors kind and friendly”

“I have enjoyed the course and I would do something like this again”

“I would like to see the AVE organise more computer lessons for kids”

“I would like to do more on PowerPoint and in building web pages”

Next steps

- Further, similar courses were to be considered in the future.

October 2007