Personal trainer creates a NEET solution
How the Fresh Start project at Cheshire West and Chester Council is thinking differently about engaging young people
Like many local authorities, Cheshire West and Chester has been tasked with supporting the growing number of young people not in education, employment or training, or NEET. With one in eight 16–24-year-olds now forming part of this group, it’s important to bring the figure down not only for their own benefit, but for the UK as a whole. The rising number of economically inactive young people puts a strain on the nation’s prosperity, and for the individuals themselves, time spent NEET often causes physical and mental health problems that significantly reduce quality of life.
Given that there are many reasons for struggling to gain or stay in employment, education or training, from long-term health conditions to care responsibilities, it’s important that the solutions rolled out to address the issue are as diverse as the needs of the many NEET individuals.
As such, Cheshire West and Chester’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund investments for people and skills has a multitude of arms providing support to different groups in different ways. Fresh Start forms one of the core projects and focuses on the younger age bracket of people aged 16–19. A transitional age at the best of times, the aim of the scheme is to work with those with additional barriers to moving forwards with their learning or starting a career:
“We work with youth offenders, care leavers, individuals with extreme social anxiety; the vast majority of the young people that we support have had difficult upbringings or challenges in their lives.
“Some are starting to get in trouble with the police, so this is like early prevention work, putting foundations in place to ensure they can choose more positive pathways.
“We do a bit of everything to help them: we provide employment support, but we start at a baseline of understanding their needs and unique barriers and challenges. Then we try to minimise those difficulties and make steps towards moving into education or work.
“That looks different for everybody, and we move at a pace that works for the individual with personalised plans for each. We don’t just do X, Y and Z for every person – we cover A–Z of support,” explains Jennifer Matthews, Project Manager of Fresh Start.
While not originally part of their programming, personal training has now become a central element to how the team engage with young people. When the project started, Fresh Start found it tricky to connect with the teens who simply didn’t want to be in council offices, attempting to articulate to authority figures what they needed. They expected to receive the same treatment as in schools and workplaces where they had felt unwelcome in the past and shut down. So, Kevin Evans, member of the Fresh Start team, had an idea.
Outside of his work for the council, Kevin happened to be a qualified personal trainer. His plan was to connect the two worlds, and as a result he has enabled positive outcomes for almost 80 young people in the borough since March:
“I had an idea of getting these young people fit and active. A lot of them are just sitting at home most of the time, and this would serve as motivation while we help them to look for work or education to move forwards.
“Going to the gym has such a big effect on their lives. It helps them to sleep properly, makes them think about nutrition, and gives them structure around applying for work or courses.
Originally, I ran sessions for small groups, but we hardly had any take up: so many of these individuals have high social anxiety and aren’t ready for that. Now I offer one-to-one sessions. I show them all of the elements of the gym and give them a structured plan.”
The council are taking note of the programme’s success, too. Cabinet member for inclusive economy, regeneration and digital transformation for Cheshire West and Chester, Nathan Pardoe, said:
“Fresh Start’s innovative approach to delivering employment support via personal training sessions in gyms, and other alternative settings, is exactly the kind of innovation that is needed.
“By meeting people where they feel comfortable and confident, we’re breaking down barriers and opening doors to opportunity. This individualised support is making a positive difference, and it’s vital that we continue to invest in forward-thinking support to ensure everyone, and in particular young people, have the chance to thrive.”
In terms of structure, Kevin has had fantastic support from local gym facilities. Brio, a community-focused health and wellbeing provider in Cheshire West, started by providing free space rental for the initial group classes. When that didn’t work, they developed the idea of a blank gym pass that allows multiple different young people to accompany Kevin at the gym, one at a time. With access to Brio sites across the borough, Kevin is able to work with individuals across the whole of the region to maximise the success of Fresh Start.
Kerry Goryl, Operations Director at Brio, said:
“We are delighted to support such a fantastic and innovative programme. For young people, regular exercise is more than a way to stay fit: it builds discipline, confidence and resilience. Fostering physical and mental wellbeing can drive success in every area of life, and this is evident from the positive impact and results Fresh Start has achieved in such a short space of time.”
The results of this collaborative and unique effort to support young people not in education, employment or training are exciting. Kevin describes the progress some of his trainees have made since attending the gym with him:
“One lad has high anxiety and can’t sit still. He has ADHD, and with all that, he really struggles to engage in conversation at all. But when we entered the gym environment, we could talk. By concentrating on the session and asking questions around that rather than putting pressure on a direct conversation, I’ve been able to get a lot more information from him. As a result, I can help him further.
“Another regular has benefited from it so much that he’s now joined the gym himself and goes without me as well. He asks me for advice. Before, he stayed at home playing video games until late at night and didn’t do much in the day, but now he goes to the gym in the morning and then searches for and applies to jobs after. It’s tough finding opportunities at 17, but the gym is motivating him to keep moving forwards.”
Through delivering these personal training sessions, Kevin is able to act as a role model rather than an authority figure, providing a more subtle form of guidance. In this way, he has been able to make significant progress and connect with young people that Fresh Start has otherwise found disengaged. More than providing physical coaching, he has harnessed the power of sport and physical activity professionals to provide a holistically supportive environment for individuals to work on themselves.
This innovating programme is currently funded through a short-term project; however, Jennifer and Kevin are keen to expand and explore new opportunities. If they are able to continue this essential work in supporting the government priority of getting Britain working, the idea is to connect with more sector professionals across a diverse range of sports to cater to a broader range of interests. With members of their team already qualified in netball and rugby coaching, the options are there to grow beyond the gym and onto pitches and courts. With sports comes the challenge of tackling the common barrier of social anxiety to form teams, but perhaps this is the perfect opportunity to do so in an unpressured environment where the focus is on the ball.
Realistically, we already know it will work. There are now countless examples such as this of sport and physical activity bringing together marginalised people, improving both physical and mental health. With its transformative power and the expertise of sector professionals clearly demonstrated through projects like Fresh Start all over the country, we can be optimistic that more and more people in the UK will benefit from sport and physical activity and the sector’s incredible workforce.
