style | community
Royal Yacht Squadron Isle of Wight Foundation
With a mission to promote opportunities in the marine industry for young people from the Isle of Wight, The Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes has set up a foundation to do just that.
An aerial view of the Royal Yacht Squadron A
s part of this year’s bicentennial celebrations, The Royal Yacht Squadron has launched a brand new foundation which aims to assist young Islanders between the ages of 16 and 29 to gain employment in the marine industry. The fund for The Foundation
aims to top two million pounds and this will be raised directly via members and squadron connections. It will enable these young people to apply for jobs, training, equipment and anything else that they may need to attain a marine career of any sort.
Commodore Christopher Sharples says, “Our members are well aware of some of the challenges facing young people on this beautiful island. They are keen to help in a way that reflects their own interests in the maritime environment and see this as a long term project. Cowes has a long history of boatbuilding and so this is very relevant. There is a nationwide shortage of young people going into marine careers and we are looking to address this.”
The RYS has launched an awareness campaign making contact with schools, colleges, youth services and smaller sailing clubs across the Island to spread the word about what’s on offer and the RYS has been invited to speak at several motivational events at
UKSA to explain how the Foundation works. Promotional literature is being included in school and college newsletters, Community Action is including a piece in their newsletter and of course the Foundation will be very active on social media.
The fi rst two grants have been awarded and the committee will play an active role in monitoring the progress of the benefi ciaries. The fi rst grant was to a young man who has moved his skills in furniture making to boat building having struggled to fi nd work. He worked fi rstly for Lallows and is now at a boatyard in East Wight and studying for a City and Guilds Level 3 Diploma in Marine Construction, Systems Engineering and Maintenance in Southampton.
The second award was to a 21 year old with a diffi cult background having been in care. She will be doing a seven week, full time course at UKSA which will qualify her for a career in the water sports industry including becoming an RYA dinghy instructor and The Foundation has funded the course fees and her living expenses. She has also completed an Unlocking Potential course which is designed to steer young people away from benefi ts and says, “I saw lots of new opportunities and wanted to get off benefi ts and get on with my life and it was the instructors at UKSA who showed me what I could do.”
The criteria for anyone wanting to apply for assistance is that they should be either Island born or with strong Island connections and aged between 16 and 29 and applications should be made in the fi rst instance to the trustees. Antony Matusch, Chairman of the Foundation, encourages people to support The Foundation saying, “We need you to spread the word that we now exist and what we do. Please do not hesitate to recommend us and encourage applications.”
The Foundation’s website can be found at www.
rysfoundation.org.uk and has all the information that is needed to apply as well as opportunities and case studies of people already receiving support or you can email
trustees@rysfoundation.org.uk for further information.
Encouraging tradional boat building skills
A wide range of courses available for careers in the marine industry
September/October 2015
13
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132