The Education Training Collective is celebrating 25 years of changing young people’s lives as award-winning delivery partners of The Prince’s Trust Team programme.

Knowing that they are making a real difference to young people’s lives has got to be the highlight of the job for Gillian Hutchinson and her Prince’s Trust team at the Education Training Collective (Etc.).

It’s what they do every day, working with unemployed young people and giving them the chance to develop new skills, build confidence and ultimately make a fresh start.

It’s not always an easy job as Gillian says many of the young people may, for a whole host of reasons, have become disengaged with education or lack direction.

But for her, that has to be both the hardest and most rewarding aspect of their work.  “Seeing the change in the young people, from when they first walk through the door to the end of the course,” she says. “It makes all the effort worthwhile.”

As the college group celebrates 25 years as a delivery partner of The Prince’s Trust Team programme, that adds up to thousands of lives changed, among them former Prince’s Trust Team recruit, Johnathon.

Looking back, the now dad-of-two describes The Prince’s Trust Team programme as “a revelation”.

He has no doubt the 12-week course changed his life, and 18 years on is still influencing his career choices today.

“It opened my eyes to another world,” he says. “I realised, if you are willing to put the hard work in there are people who will help and support you.  I found there are jobs where you can help other people to achieve and I had no doubt that was what I wanted to do.”

These days the 37-year-old from Middlesbrough is living with his young family in London where he is the Head of Community Safety for the London Borough of Islington.

A big job, his role is to tackle tough issues such as serious youth violence, counter terrorism, gang culture and violence against women and girls, responsible for a large part of the city.

Still keen to help others, he says, for him, the fundamentals of the job are the same. He explains: “You are working with people, offering support and ultimately helping them to make their lives better.”

There’s no doubt he has come a long way from the 19-year-old who, after plans for a career in professional football had come to an end, found himself without a clear direction.

It was after getting involved in a fight and being given community service, that his probation officer suggested he sign up to The Prince’s Trust Team programme.

Johnathon recalls: “I think he knew that I was someone who had made a mistake and that I was genuinely sorry for it.”

For him, like so many others, it was a chance to prove himself, and to show his commitment and desire to work towards something better.

The daily round trip on public transport from his home in Coulby Newham to the Team room in Darlington alone, was testament to his dedication.

Inspired and motivated by all he saw and learned on the course, Johnathon went on to become a volunteer for the programme, before securing a job as a Prince’s Trust Team assistant and then Team leader working for the college.

Eventually moving on to a regional manager’s job with The Prince’s Trust in London, he said: “In that time I must have helped 700 young people get back into education, work or training.”

That is the ultimate aim of what they do, says the Etc.’s head of department for The Prince’s Trust, Gillian.  Bringing together young people from all different walks of life, she and the team have seen so many, including Johnathon, make massive changes.

“Of course, you can’t win them all,” she says.  But with approximately 80% of those young people going on to employment, further education or training, and many more picking up new life skills and an improved sense of purpose and self-worth, there’s plenty to celebrate.

And the Etc. Prince’s Trust staff were shown just how special their achievements are recently, when they were named Further Education Team of the Year at the Pearson National Teaching Awards 2020.

Gillian says: “To put that into context, it is the equivalent of the Oscars for education, with just 14 national gold awards up for grabs.”

Their win was announced live on BBC’s The One Show. 

To learn they are gold standard comes as no surprise to former student Johnathon.

He says: “All these years later the elements of the course are still ingrained in my mind. It was incredible and teaches you skills you need for life.”

Happy to share his own experiences, he adds: “I have no shame talking about my mistakes today, as I am proud of the distance I have travelled.  I have learned that success is not about the job title or the car you drive, it is measurable by how far you have come as a person.

“With a supportive family and a nice home, the course made me appreciate just how fortunate I was, and that is part of what inspired and motivated me to want to go on and help others.” 

The Prince’s Trust Team programme is a 12-week personal development course that offers unemployed young people age 16 to 25 the opportunity to learn new skills, by working on a range of hands-on tasks and challenges, including work experience, an adventure residential and a community project.

Etc. currently delivers courses at Stockton Riverside College, Redcar and Cleveland College, Middlesbrough, Darlington, Bishop Auckland and Catterick.

To find out more or get involved visit www.stockton.ac.uk/princes-trust  or call 01642 865566.