Curtis White: Case Study

ATG Training – geared to offering better prospects for youngsters

Deprivation and crime are far from uncommon in Salford with more than 80% of children living in poverty in parts of the city. The city is home to around 600 NEETS; youngsters who are jobless and outside the education system. With the local authority working hard to reduce these figures, apprenticeship schemes such as those run by ATG Training, can have a real impact on young lives. One such youngster who was offered a breakthrough to real employment and a better life was Curtis White.

Curtis grew up with little to inspire him, his parents had never worked and his two older brothers had fallen into a life of crime. Curtis showed little promise at school finding the curriculum inappropriate to his interests; too theoretical and with little opportunity for hands-on learning. Like many of those around him, he left with no qualifications.

Curtis was volunteering at the Cyclone project based at the Duchy Youth and Community Centre in Salford run by the charity Child Action Northwest when he met ATG Training’s cycle academy instructor Matt Holstead. The charity takes groups of 8 to 19 year olds out cycling to Bolton’s Rivington Pike and the Peak District to enjoy life and learn something about teamwork, achievement and self respect.

Child Action Northwest recognised Curtis’s potential and fully supported him in finding the right training to realise his ambition to become a mountain bike instructor for the centre.

The modern apprenticeship in cycle maintenance that Matt was able to offer was perfect for Curtis as it was fully covered by government funding for eligible students such as himself and led to a sought after national vocational qualification. As well as qualifying with the country’s leading provider for cycle maintenance training, the course involved basic skills as well as IT - all of which Curtis had missed out on at school.

Commented Matt Holstead:
“Curtis has always had a bike so the prospect of building on his interest with a recognised qualification that would help him contribute to the Cyclone project caught his imagination. What he needed as well as the cycle mechanic skills, was some help with numeracy and literacy to give him confidence. We deliver training in a hands-on but structured way so it’s very different form the typical school environment that many of our youngsters have rejected. “

The practical work-based approach delivered at ATG Training’s modern and well equipped Cycle Academy in Manchester meant that Curtis was able to practice his newly acquired skills from day one. Curtis passed his exams and with the tremendous support and understanding of staff at the Cyclone project he went on to get further qualifications in first aid and safety. After ‘mithering’ staff at the Cyclone project to take him on, less than 2 years on he is a qualified instructor at the age of 18 and the first and only person in his family to have a job.

Curtis described his time as an apprentice at ATG Training’s Cycle Academy as ‘really excellent’.

He added: “The course gives you a qualification at the end but the experience of doing the course gives you belief in yourself. The course is structured, but nothing like at a school or college – it’s really hands on and the instructors are terrific.

Thanks to his experiences as an instructor at Cyclone,Curtis has gained much insight into the lives of the young people with whom Child Action Northwest works.

"I know what it’s like for them,” Curtis said. “They go out committing crime or lie dossing in bed all day. Cyclone gives them something to feel good about. They know they can just come in here and nobody’s going to tell them what to do, and hopefully they learn a few things too."

Matt Holstead sees vocational training as exactly the sort of thing that can help young people like Curtis:

“Curtis is a great example of what a young person can do with a bit of determination and drive. We are in the process of taking on a couple of other lads from the project and we hope that they will find it as useful as Curtis and be able to use skills we teach them to find a new direction for themselves.”

Curtis’s ability and determination in helping youngsters whose backgrounds are similar to his own has won the admiration of Salford MP, Hazel Blears, who wants him as a ‘Community Champion,’ and features him in her constituency newsletters. He’s also become chair of the local Crime and Community Safety Task Group.

About Child Action Northwest

Child Action Northwest is a charity established in 1886 to provide accommodation for orphaned and destitute children from Blackburn and the surrounding area. Today Child Action Northwest (CANW) continues to evolve to meet the needs of today’s children, young people and families, across the Northwest offering a broad range of services including the care services, family well-being, specialist training in health and social care and youth engagement support
For more information visit www.canw.org.uk

About ATG Training

ATG is an educational charity with a 40 year track record of working closely with organisations to provide training that meets the real-world needs of employers. As a leading provider at national and local level in National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs), ATG Training has recognised Centres of Vocational Excellence in such areas as engineering practice and productivity, and maintenance in the fast-growing cycling industry where it is the leading provider of training for cycle mechanics in the UK.

The organisation trains staff in over 300 companies across a wide range of disciplines such as Engineering, Electrical Safety, ICT Systems, Business Administration and Management, Customer Service, Warehousing and Distribution, Care, Child Care, Retail and Construction. Courses are externally accredited and can be tailored to meet individual company needs

ATG Training’s Cycle Academy is based near the Velodrome at 232 Briscoe Lane, Newton Heath, Manchester, M40 2XG. For information call 0161 230 6241.