Step up programme

This month, we’ve been working with Derbyshire Adult Community Education (DACES), who work on behalf of Derbyshire County Council, to run an education programme for young adults in Chesterfield.

The programme called ‘Step Up’ is aimed at 16 year olds with no fixed destination for further education, such as a college place or apprenticeship.

Vicar Lane has been working with organisers on an ‘employer challenge’ within the programme, whereby the young people were set the task of developing creative solutions for the utilisation of vacant units within the centre. An initial briefing was held at the centre on 4th July, when the young people visited the centre, explored the empty units, began work on their initial ideas and met with existing retailers to gain insight into life at the centre.

On Wednesday 24th July the young people presented their proposals to organisers and the team at Vicar Lane, with huge success. All presentations given on the day were of an incredibly high standard, with participants having carried out market research and SWOT analysis for them to develop their proposals and reach their conclusions.

Three standout presentations included a proposal for a bespoke made to measure underwear retailer, an American 50`s style dinner and a vegan café / restaurant / store.

All participants were really excited about undertaking the project and this shone through in the presentation. This also helped with self-confidence, speaking and explaining their ideas to an unfamiliar adult. With this they demonstrated increased self-belief and passion for their ideas.

Each participant was given a £20 River Island gift card by Vicar Lane for taking part.

Following the success of this programme, Vicar Lane has been asked to get involved with another 2 groups, so watch this space for further details.