Blaenau Gwent
Project: Community Apprenticeship Trainees (CATS) project
Grant awarded £306,981
About
This project was set up because there was a recognised shortage of suitably qualified Community Development Workers in Blaenau Gwent, and the CATS (Community Apprenticeship Trainees) and GAVO (Gwent Association of Voluntary Organisations) had made several presentations about the project to other CVS and voluntary and statutory organisations across Wales. The project has created a great deal of interest and is quite well known in the voluntary sector in Wales.
As a result of these presentations and also its proven success, there have been a number of enquiries about this model of delivering a Community Apprentice Training Scheme and the Project Co-ordinator has had discussions with organisations from six other Counties around putting together a joint bid for the new European Convergence programme for a project based on the CATS model of community apprentices. These discussions are still at a very early stage but there is a commitment from a number of organisations to be part of a potential project.
Such is the success of the project locally that organisations are now approaching the project to have the CATS as placements rather than the project approaching organisations. The project continues to progress really well, with seven of the twelve original CATS having left the project - five have gained employment as Development Officers, the remaining two left for personal reasons. The Project Co-ordinator is working with the five remaining CATS on interview skills and specific work placements to give them the best possible chance of securing employment. In this reporting period the CATS have helped set up six new community groups and worked with over 500 people. They have worked on submitting nine funding bids for small community groups, totalling over £32,000. They have also worked with four groups on setting up constitutions. Their extensive training is continuing with one CAT taking a degree in Psychology, one a degree in Youth and Community, and one MSc in Community Regeneration, one OCN in Special Education Needs and one a course in Community Regeneration. These courses are in addition to their NVQ work in Community Development.
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