Volunteers From Clarion Help Young People Step into The World Of Work
Several members of our team have had the privilege of conducting mock interviews with young people, supporting their transition into employment over the past year.
The Spear Programme is run by Resurgo, a London-based charity with a local centre in Cheltenham. It is designed to equip 16–24-year-olds who are not in education, employment, or training with the confidence, mindset, and skills they need to succeed in the workplace.
Resurgo believes that anyone can overcome barriers to employment. Whether those challenges stem from low confidence, mental health issues, a criminal record, or lack of qualifications. Their mission is to help young people find meaningful work and build lasting careers.
The Spear Programme typically supports cohorts of around 10 young people over a six-week period. Referrals often come from Job Centres and other support agencies. Each cohort is guided by experienced coaches who deliver training in essential job-readiness skills such as interview techniques, CV writing, professional communication, and personal presentation. Participants also gain access to job opportunities. The programme’s ethos ‘high challenge, (but underpinned by) high support’ underscores its commitment to transformation.
“What a fantastic thing you’re doing with these brilliant young people. It was amazing to see confidence growing before our eyes. Hugely inspirational and rewarding – I hope the young folk got as much out of it as I did. ”
To help prepare a cohort for their move into jobs, our team ran interviews with young people in the cohort. Everyone came away thoroughly impressed with the participants’ attitudes and new-found confidence their own abilities.
“I wanted to say thank you for having me yesterday. It was an inspirational afternoon.
Wishing the participants all the best, you’ve done a great job to get them ready for real world interviews! SPEAR is a fantastic scheme and happy to be part of it in the future and recommend it to others.”
On the past year, we also attended a final ‘affirmation’ event, where cohort members confidently stand before an audience of approximately 100 people to share their personal growth and achievements. An incredible contrast to their starting points.
“We believe each young person has huge potential, no matter what barriers to employment they face. On the Spear Programme, we help our trainees realise this potential, by coaching them with the mindset and skills they need to both get into work and thrive once they’re there.”
Conclusion
At Clarion Insight, we know that people make the biggest difference, and so supporting the Spear Programme has been an exciting and rewarding opportunity to put this into practice within our local community. Seeing young people, who have been struggling to get into the workplace, succeed because of their hard work in the programme is amazing to witness.