Rathbone Training is a British youth charity that transforms the lives of young people through learning. With centres in England, Scotland, and Wales, they aim to reach over 5,000 people each year.
They provide programs to improve Maths and English whilst gaining qualifications and valuable work experience. We chatted to Alan Mackey, the Director based in Wales, who discussed with us the aims and visions for the charity. As a customer at the new Cardiff Business Centre, we are delighted to have a charity within BizSpace who give so much back to the community.
The youth charity was founded by Elfrida Rathbone; a member of the Rathbone family who were merchant traders with a social conscience. Elfrida Rathbone, believed that ‘All children can learn’ and was a pioneering campaigner for children’s rights. She particularly championed the right of children with learning difficulties to receive an education.
Alan Mackey quoted that:
“Today we continue her work, helping young people across Britain make positive life choices and improve their lives through work-based learning.”
Young people are at the heart of everything Rathbone Training do and always work to include their views in how they develop their service.
“When we see our young people develop and succeed over the course of one of our programmes it is always rewarding and highly motivating. They are the reason we do what we do! Every year we run a National Youth Conference to speak to our learners directly about what issues are important to them, and this event provides us with outcomes that direct our focus for the year ahead.”
To stand out from other youth charities they aim to commit to the individual needs of each young person they help. The further education sector is mainly inhabited by private organisations, and as a charity in the field they have a unique offer that is tailored to the individual.
“Our staff are experts in dealing with the challenging behaviour and special needs of NEET learners and ensures that they receive the necessary support to thrive. In the world of apprenticeships, we make an ideal partner to other charities looking to hire apprentices as we understand how charities work and share motivations.”
The biggest successes for the youth charity happen every single day when they get another learner who has been failed by a schooling system through a maths or English qualification, onto work experience or finally onto an apprenticeship.
“It is always amazing to see apprentices excelling in the work place, having initially joined Rathbone at 16 for one of our study programmes. We even have staff working at some of the centres across Wales who initially arrived as learners!”
Here is a case study of the work Rathbone Training do with deaf apprentices at the National Deaf Children's Society:
