Trainees complete scheme aimed at supporting young women

Three graduation ceremonies have taken place as WeMindTheGap celebrated the successful completion of its six-month traineeship by young women in Flintshire and Liverpool as well as the charity’s home town of Wrexham.

Born out of Moneypenny, WeMindTheGap (originally called Moneypenny Foundation) offers unemployed young women new opportunities in life and work through the completion of a six-month paid traineeship.

To date the charity has run three traineeships consecutively in Wrexham, and these have consistently resulted in employment or full-time education for 70% of participants.

This year the charity ran three traineeships simultaneously – in Flintshire and Liverpool as well as Wrexham – and yet again, 70% of participants have moved from being ‘prisoners of circumstance to pilots of their own lives’, which is the charity’s aspiration for all participants.

Over the last six months a number of young women, many of whom were referred to the traineeship by local agencies, have taken full advantage of all the opportunities that the traineeship presents: meaningful work experience in five different work environments; new skills, experiences, life coaching, support and mentoring.

Last week three separate graduation ceremonies that celebrated the trainees’ journeys and individual achievements took place across the region: at Moneypenny for Wrexham trainees, Theatr Clwyd for Flintshire trainees and RSM in Liverpool for Liverpool trainees.

Trainees’ friends, families and supporters were joined by the many employer partners, individuals, businesses and funders who have made each traineeship possible.

All of the graduates have firm plans for the future, and this involves anything and everything from starting employment with employer partners, starting apprenticeships and moving into fulltime education to joining the RAF.

Rachel Clacher, Founder and Trustee of WeMindTheGap said: “By working with different partners in three different communities we have been able to give real and unique opportunities to unemployed young women in the region who deserved better.

“We are very proud of all that our trainees have achieved and can’t wait to see what their new-found confidence, new skill set and experience brings them in the future.

“By running three traineeships simultaneously we have demonstrated how powerful it can be when the public and private sectors work together, and also that structure, meaningful work experience, care and trust has a transformational effect on real lives: this is social mobility in action.

“Each and every one of our graduates has real choices for the future now and we can’t wait to share their journeys with them and support them along the way.

“We want to run additional traineeships in more communities every year and are looking for like-minded organisations to work with who would like to make an impact on their doorstep.”

Not only has the success of these traineeships demonstrated the need for such an opportunity for unemployed young women across the region, it also demonstrates the impact that the traineeship has on different communities, and gives the charity confidence to run more traineeships in more communities every year across North Wales and the North West.

Joanna Swash, the managing director of fast-growing Moneypenny, will share her story at a networking lunch this month.

She will be speaking at the first TheBusinessDesk.com Women in Business lunch in Liverpool which is being held at Lunya in the city centre on Friday, April 27th.

Joanna will talk about her progression through sales and senior commercial roles and about how, as the leader of the business, she is creating a welcoming and modern culture.

Join us on Friday, April 27 to hear from Joanna and network with women from business and the professional services over lunch.

More information can be found here.