An "innovative and extraordinarily successful" Mayo programme, designed to support young people who have missed out on employment, training or education opportunities, has been named as the winner of a prestigious national award.
Since 2017, Foundation 4 Life (F4L ) has succeeded in helping over 50 young people to regain a clear focus in their careers and personal lives.
On Monday, the programme, conceived by South West Mayo Development Company CLG (SWMDC ) under the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP ) and Western Region Drug and Alcohol Task Force (WRDATF ), won the European Social Fund Special Award in the annual AONTAS STAR Awards.
The STAR Awards, organised by the national adult learning organisation, AONTAS, aim to recognise and celebrate the success of adult learning initiatives throughout Ireland.
The judging panel recognised the fact that 70 per cent of F4L participants progressed onto employment, education or training on completing the programme - a figure noted as 'well above the national progression rates for programmes of this nature'.
"We are delighted with this award, as it honours the great work done by so many people in producing a programme that is innovative, targeted and extraordinarily successful," said the programme coordinators Catherine McCloskey and Pat Conway.
"Most of all, the award celebrates the wonderful participants, many of whom came onto the programme at a difficult point in their lives, when they were struggling to realise their potential. They threw themselves into the programme with great enthusiasm, and it is fantastic to see so many of them now working, studying or training – they are enjoying life and ready to embrace new challenges.
"F4L’s broad range of modules enabled participants to develop their job, life and interpersonal skills. They completed courses in customer service, manual handling, CV and interview preparation, cookery, driver theory, first aid, sleep hygiene, sexual health, drug awareness, rights and entitlements, leadership, communication, 1-1 person-centred coaching, team-building and problem-solving and training in Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP ).
"Apart from their career development, which was significantly enhanced for most participants, there was increased participation in sport and recreation activities, including running, Irish dancing, singing, football, dragon boating, pottery and gym membership.
"On behalf of the SWMDC Board and staff, I want to thank Catherine and Pat for their dedication and commitment to Foundation 4 Life. This is a life-changing programme that has been embraced by all the young people who have taken part, showing that with the right approach, all our young people can reach their full potential," said Paul Gibbons SWMDC Chairperson.
The AONTAS citation noted that "our judges were struck by the depth and breadth of the initiatives and the high quality of your work. The learners’ stories told through the judging process showed the impact your organisation makes on them and their community. The value of this work is unique for each adult learner".
The award announcement was made at an online ceremony. The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP ) 2018-2022 is funded by the Irish Government through the Department of Rural and Community Development and co-funded by the European Social Fund under the Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning (PEIL ) 2014 to 2020.
