Date: September 12, 2007
Release: Immediate

YOUNG PEOPLE ADVANCE THEIR CREATIVE TALENTS!

A group of 12 young people from Bracknell and surrounding areas will be advancing their creative talents this week on a course designed to give them a taste of the excitement of the creative media industry and the world of work.

All of the young people are currently not in education, employment or training and will have the opportunity to develop vocational skills, gain qualifications and experience first-hand how the creative media industry works thanks to the ADVANCE course run by include, CfBT Education Trust’s service dedicated to tackling the crisis of social exclusion among young people.

Until Thursday (September 13) the young people, all aged between 16 and 19, will be taking part in a wide range of creative activities designed to develop their communication and team working skills including; producing a graphic novel, manipulating digital images, developing web pages and modelling a set of false costume teeth on their own.

The ADVANCE project supports young people in building their confidence; motivation and knowledge of the media sector, helping them develop skills for an exciting future career. And following the accredited four-day challenge, the young people who successfully complete the course have the opportunity to proceed to a six-week work experience course which includes the chance to work with professional media technicians at an Industrial Learning Centre in Banbury, Oxfordshire.

Funded by the European Social Fund, ADVANCE is aimed at young people who have been unemployed for six months or more in the Thames Valley area. include is working in partnership with Avalon Studios Group, a group of companies working in the multi-media industry, to offer young people this unique opportunity to gain practical work experience in the media.

Paul Keenleyside, Head of Inclusion at CfBT Education Trust, said: “include has a proven methodology for working with and engaging effectively with very troubled young people and the ADVANCE project opens up more opportunities specifically for young people in the Thames Valley. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience the media industry first-hand and we are delighted to be able to offer ADVANCE in this area.”

For more information about future ADVANCE courses please contact Jeannette Bilton on 01296 394668 or jbilton@cfbt.com

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Notes for Editors:

CfBT Education Trust is a leading education consultancy and service organisation. Our objective is to provide education for public benefit both in the UK and internationally. Established 40 years ago CfBT Education Trust now has an annual turnover exceeding £100 million and employs more than 2,000 staff worldwide who support educational reform, teach, advise, research and train. As a not-for-profit organisation we re-invest around £1 million of our surpluses every year for practice-based educational research.

Visit www.cfbt.com for more information.

include, which has been a part of CfBT Education Trust since 2000, supports troubled young people who have been excluded from mainstream society through a range of support programmes. include’s staff have extensive experience working with young people and come mainly from backgrounds of social work, youth work and teaching. They have particular expertise in the delivery of the e2e (entry to employment) programme and currently manage e2e programmes in Maidenhead, Berkshire, County Durham and Great Yarmouth in Norfolk.

For more information contact:
Karen Borrer
PR Manager
CfBT Education Trust
60 Queens Road
Reading
Berkshire
RG1 4BS
Tel: 0118 902 1256
kborrer@cfbt.com