Bath College and Bath Rugby Foundation have been running a Summer course working with unemployed young people to improve their job prospects.

The Advantage course is in partnership with the Department of Work and Pensions and Bath Rugby’s charity, and is for 18-to-24-year-olds who are, or in danger of becoming, NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training).

Working with Bath Job Centre, the course was created to not only encourage young people to enrol on college courses or gain the confidence to find job roles, but also to create a peer support group in which they could encourage and support each other.

The learners, who are from across B&NES and Wiltshire, started the course finding it difficult to engage and ended with enthusiasm and a new-found confidence.

The opportunities the Advantage students have gained access to have been very broad, with one offered a place on a Performing Arts course at college; one enrolled on a sports coaching course; one has moved into supported housing after being homeless and sofa surfing; one has created a CV and is volunteering in order to gain experience in a retail environment; one is starting volunteering in a youth drug and alcohol support group with a view to becoming a youth support worker or counsellor, drawing on his own experiences.

Joe Aygul, Employability Officer at Bath Rugby Foundation said: “Watching our students grow in confidence over the past five weeks has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my professional career. The journey these young people have been on in this short time has been remarkable, from starting as un-engaged ‘NEETs’ at the beginning of the course to now leaving us with aspirations and opportunities.

“The future looks bright for these guys and the team at Bath Rugby Foundation look forward to collaborating with Bath College again in the future.”

Anna Wheeler, Community Engagement Manager at Bath College said: “This has been so much more than a collaboration to upskill a group of young people. Every member of staff involved has been inspired by the enthusiasm, talent and positivity they have shown.”