On Friday 10th May Gareth Johnson, MP for Dartford, joined a group of unemployed local young people taking part in the Prince’s Trust Team programme in Dartford. Delivered in Dartford by south-east charity CXK, the Prince’s Trust Team programme is a personal development programme which provides unemployed 16-25 year olds with the chance to take on new challenges, take a qualification, make long-lasting friendships and develop vital skills that will help them to find work
Mr Johnson joined the group of 12 in their third week of the 12 week programme where the young people explore local issues and decide on a project that they can carry out to benefit their community. The group took the opportunity to explore with Mr Johnson the needs of the local community, and discussed with him the political and community issues that matter to them most.
Those topics included the issue of knife crime in Dartford, homelessness and its links to mental health, the need for investment in Dartford’s hospital, and traffic issues affecting the area.
Mr Johnson said: “It was great to meet with the Prince’s Trust team and to hear their concerns and aspirations for the future of both Dartford and the whole country. This development programme has been very successful in helping thousands of young people improve their confidence, social skills and knowledge of the opportunities they have in life. It also enables the young people taking part to work on a community programme to provide assistance to others in Dartford. It is a genuine success story for the local area and I am confident it will continue to grow in strength over the coming months and years.”
Team is a personal development programme which provides unemployed 16-25 year olds with the chance to take on new challenges, take a qualification, make long-lasting friendships and develop vital skills that will help them to find work. The programme is completely free of charge and doesn’t affect participants’ Jobseekers Allowance or Universal Credit. Travel costs are paid, and individuals may even be entitled to meals and bursary payments.
CXK runs programmes in Dartford, Ashford and Sittingbourne. For further information, visit www.cxk.org/services/princes-trust-team-programme, email princestrustinfo@cxk.org, or call 07918 692885.
About CXK
CXK Ltd is a charitable organisation delivering a range of services across the south-east to support young people and adults to build the skills and confidence they need to progress into education, employment or training. Services include:
- Information, Advice and Guidance services, including:
- Careers advice for young adults and adults
- Careers support in schools and the community
- Training referrals & job applications
- Redundancy support
- Telephone and online support services
- Targeted support
- Emotional wellbeing counselling and support
- Early intervention and support in schools and the community
- Family support and engagement
- Engagement and mentoring support for the unemployed or disengaged
- Training and development
- Development of skills, confidence and motivation
- Parenting programmes
- Social action
- Functional Skills qualifications
- Apprenticeships and pre-Apprenticeship programmes and support