Helm has a vision to help change the lives of the young people it works with and in particular to help those with the most severe barriers and situations. Often these young people have not fitted in well in a school setting and have become excluded from learning in a formal environment. Helm, on behalf of Dundee Education Department operates an off-site educational provision providing a lot of guidance, and working in particular on attendance and punctuality alongside the core skills and training modules.
These young people often have complex home lives where integration and quality time has been restricted. Helm's aim is to re-engage them, provide guidance and work with their ambitions and situations towards finding ultimately a place in the workforce or further education.
Many of the young people on this scheme will move on to the Get Ready for Work programme or return to college at 16 years.
Nicolle
Believing in myself was my biggest barrier...
Nicolle stopped attending school during S2 due to difficult family issues and a feeling that she wasn't fitting in. When she started with Helm her attendance remained poor but once she started building relationships with her instructors and made friends, her performance greatly improved and she successfully achieved Intermediate 2 in Communication, IT and Numeracy.
Nicolle enjoyed taking part in the salon, performing hand massages to older people and the kitchen but in particular she led the way in raising money for Breakthrough Breast Cancer by hand-making little bags that she sold to staff and her grandmother's friends.
Nicolle started on placement with Dundee City Council's Discover Opportunities centre as a receptionist and enjoyed all parts of this interfacing role. She started to apply for positions and has now a full time position with Search, who operate a call centre on behalf of Tesco. She recognises in herself that her confidence and self belief improved at Helm. "I was shy when I started but Helm pushed me to do more and gave me confidence in myself. I managed well on my placement and really believed I could get a job - which I did."
is the operating name for Helm Training Ltd.
Company No. SC099885