For the nearly 1 million young million people who are classed as ?NEET? (Not in Education, Employment or Training) the future in the current economic climate is very uncertain. For young people who are lacking in qualifications their situation may feel very bleak.
For a number of reason students are leaving education unengaged, having not reached their full potential. If the UK is to tackle the rising problem of NEETS and all the associated problems that go with them it is key that we find a way to re-engage with these young people.
Eureka Youth has been pioneering new training methods for this sector of the NEET population. Their approach is to engage with the students using a medium that they enjoy and respond to; the world of electronic gaming.
Whilst at first glance if you were to drop in on a Eureka training course you may just see a group of young people playing on a Playstation. However if you were to stop and look more closely you would see the students developing skills in sales and marketing, ITC, CV writing, time management and project skills.
Donna Cranny, one of the course leaders, said, ?Electronic Games are an area that young people can relate to and more importantly it is an area they are willing share their opinions and knowledge of. At Eureka we?ve taken the Playstation platform to develop practical training that gives young people transferable skills that they can take to an organisation?.
Donna went on to add, ?One of our current programmes is using the popular game ?Little Big Planet? to introduce the concepts of sales, marketing to the group. During the 6 week programme students will develop their own business plans which will include the areas of sales and marketing, finance, IT development. Alongside this the students will also be developing their ?soft skills? in CV writing, presentation, report writing and time management.?
But the gaming industry was not only chosen because it is a sector to which young people can relate.
Patricia Seabright, Director of Eureka Youth said, ?The gaming industry as a whole now makes more money than Hollywood and the UK is a leading play in the gaming sector. This is an industry which is constantly adapting with new product development, sales and marketing all playing a crucial part in the success of businesses operating in this sector making it a perfect choice on which to build our unique training around.?
Eureka Youth offer training for both NEETS and Pre-NEETS and are currently offering training courses in the Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and London areas.
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