Students given boost by agency ‘revolutionising opportunities for youth’

CADENT helped four students from a special needs school in Hinckley begin their careers.

Amy Taylor, Kyle Morris, Chris Sheen and Abbie Morris are set to pursue careers in performing arts, vehicle maintenance and carpentry after graduating from the gas provider’s EmployAbility internship scheme.

The quartet toasted their success at a graduation event at Cadent’s Brick Kiln Street offices in Hinckley.

Amy said: “I wanted to do my college course but I felt I needed more confidence before I went to a big college where I didn’t know anyone.

“All the teams I’ve been with at Cadent have been really caring and supportive and my confidence has grown loads.

“I wouldn’t have been able to go to college without EmployAbility.

At 17, Kyle is the youngest intern to have joined the scheme since it started four years ago.

He said: “I have more confidence in myself and I’ve gained knowledge of complex computer systems.

“During the placements I was able to meet and work with new people, learning new tasks and being able to work in different departments.”

Amy has landed a coveted place studying Performing Arts and Drama at North Warwickshire and Hinckley College in Nuneaton.

Kyle has enrolled on a vehicle and body repair course with North Warwickshire and Hinckley College but is also on the look-out for an apprenticeship.

Chris Sheen and Abbie Morris are making their first forays into the world of further education, having both enrolled on the Foundation Learning Course at North Warwickshire and Hinckley College, Nuneaton.

Janet Thompson, head teacher of Dorothy Goodman Academy, said: “Cadent has revolutionised the opportunities for our young people.

“Over the last four years many of our young people have been employed as a result of this programme.”

“Others have gone to college to pursue other career paths but it has given all of them the belief to aspire and pursue their dreams.”

More interns from Dorothy Goodman Academy will be joining the scheme at the end of August.

Amy Taylor, Kyle Morris, Chris Sheen and Abbie Morris are set to pursue careers in performing arts, vehicle maintenance and carpentry after graduating from the gas provider’s EmployAbility internship scheme.