TATA Steel Long Products director Mr Jon Bolton knows only too well the importance of internships for inspiring young people for their future careers. He said that "I was on an internship at 14 in the British Steel laboratories on Teesside and that stayed with me. I applied to British Steel for sponsorship on the back of that and started in the steel industry. If you offer them that insight early on it could inspire them as well."

In November 24th 2011, youngsters from the region became the first graduates of the TATA Steel Industrial Cadet scheme, which was launched in September, following Prince Charles' visit to TATA's Teesside steelworks last year.

The Prince had urged the company to work with young people to increase their awareness of how a business operates and inspire them to consider a career in the industry.

Last week the Northern Echo, backed by Darlington Partnership, launched its own Foundation for Jobs program. In Darlington borough alone, more than 1,000 young people aged under 25 are presently claiming jobseekers' allowance.

It is a grim statistic that the Foundation for Jobs, launched by the campaign's patron, the Bishop of Durham, the Right Reverend Justin Welby, aims to tackle over the next year. It will aim to create at least 100 internships at firms in the borough and 100 additional apprenticeship places, as well as inspiring youngsters to develop entrepreneurial skills. In addition it will provide 1,000 youngsters with the chance to establish formal links with local companies.

The campaign has been launched initially in Darlington with a view to being rolled out across the region. After seeing the reaction of the 13 and 14 year olds taking part in the weekly, three hour sessions, Mr Bolton is keen to see the eight week TATA Steel Industrial Cadet pilot extended, involving more companies and across all industry sectors.

He said that "We are still doing some work but we are hoping to do that. The intention will be to talk to other interested companies so we can extend the program beyond TATA Steel."

Mr Bolton believed the program had offered the youngsters a valuable insight at a time they were making key decisions about their future. He said that "The cadet scheme was designed to give children from the age of 13 or 14 an insight into what the manufacturing sector offers in terms of job opportunities. I think when we went to the graduation awards and saw the reaction from the youngsters and teachers then it was clear that the initiative had gone down very well. I think there is a perception when you talk about manufacturing or the steel industry. The perception is you will be a production worker or craft worker, which are both very important to us, but it is a business and other business skills are required, such as commercial skills, financial skills, people skills. There is a need for skills right across the whole range."

Mr Bolton also felt it was important to get children into the workplace, given his own experiences at 14, at an age when they were making key decisions about their futures. He said that "I think we were talking to youngsters at an age in their lives when they were starting to make some important decisions and point their careers and lives in a certain direction. Having that insight is important in giving them the right guidance, either in giving them the confidence to go forward into a certain sector and also to inspire them to want to move into that sector."

It is worth noting that the youngsters involved in the program would also be due to make important decisions on which GCSE subjects to take.

Mr Bolton said that "I think whatever the industry or whatever the business it will give them an idea of the qualifications that are important to advance with their career in these businesses. If they are inspired they are going to want to take the subjects that enable them to embark on their careers. It should have an impact on their choices, in manufacturing these choices are going to include maths and sciences."

He added that "I think at a simple level the idea we had was that the young people coming in will then positively target a career within manufacturing, and hopefully with ourselves. As we develop the program and we want to develop it, we might look to keep in touch with the cadets and work on links into sponsorship and apprenticeships."

The experience the youngsters gained even extended as far as their application for the program.

Although Mr Bolton said it would be wrong to described it as a rigorous job interview style process, he said that "The selection process was part of the experience and we did this in co operation with the five schools in the Redcar area, who thought it was a good part of the program. We asked for applications and went through the process of talking to the individuals and selecting them, so they went through a relatively light selection process."

The youngsters were also not dropped straight into the work place, which it is known can be intimidating for a teenager with no experience of an adult working environment.

Mr Bolton said that "We had a combination of classroom sessions with industrial visits to ease them in. It wasn't just putting them in the workplace."

Overall Mr Bolton was delighted with how the pilot project had gone. He said that "It was a good experience for TATA Steel and a good experience for the young people involved."

And given his own experiences Mr Bolton also backed the form the Foundation for Jobs program was taking. He said that "If you look at the objectives of Foundation for Jobs they are key and I would totally endorse the program for Darlington. All those components would help young people make the right kind of decisions. An internship or work experience is a really positive start at the early stage. It can then lead to an apprenticeship or the prospect of future employment."

(Sourced from www.thenorthernecho.co.uk)