G.E.T (Green Experience and Training) Seville, was an EU funded scheme, run by Red Ochre in London and 3Si in Seville. It followed our previous similar scheme, Skills for Green Jobs. We placed 60 young people at the beginning of their careers in the green economy in internships in Andalucía, Spain. Participants got everything (accomodation, flights, bills, 24/7 support, insurance and subsistence money paid for). Our funding has now finished and GET Seville has ended.
We will launch a new project (TESOL in Practice) by the end of January 2015. If you have a TESOL, TEFL or CELTA qualification and are interested in the scheme, get in touch.
If you’d like to know more, or have any questions contact our Associate, Martin Cooper.
Some information from the GET Seville evaluation:
Our evaluation found that the most important outcomes for the participants were their personal development, identity and progression in their work. In particular participants significantly improved:
-linguistic knowledge and skills
-confidence to live and work abroad
-CVs and optimism about future work path
-technical work skills in a range of fields
-networks+friendships (across different backgrounds, with participants from 8 EU countries)
In addition to our initial aims we discovered that our leisure and financial support boosted outcomes. Participants visited new places, took up new hobbies, practiced old ones, met new people, kept active and enjoyed themselves. As one said, “never a boring moment”. This is not simply ‘a fun time’ for participants but actually facilitates more rapid development of other outcomes. Several participants really challenged themselves on the scheme and now have raised aspirations and belief in themselves as a result.
For some participants, we can literally say it was the best experience of their life – or simply unforgettable. They said:
“My mobility abroad has been great – the best experience of my life”
“This time that i spent on my Mobility will never be forgotten”
“Fantastic programme! Keep it up as long as possible!”
“I don’t know how the programme can improve”
Due to their increased supportive networks, confidence in themselves, new skills, high quality work experience and raised aspirations, participants are better able to transition to further work, studies and life experiences in the long term. For one, “it is the perfect stepping stone”.
A few things we learnt
– Relevant, specific and high quality roles are crucial in an internship placement. Young people know they have to be significantly focused in gaining useful work experience and we had to balance this with finding supported placements in a country (Spain) where many green organisations and businesses are struggling. On a few occasions we did not do this as well as we would have liked.
– As we developed the scheme we learnt that our Spanish preparation was highly rated but that we needed more of it.
– Recruitment is not an exact science but those who get the most out of our scheme were often curious, kind and committed – and clear about their work focus.
– We met and placed some fantastic young people who have gained a huge amount from the scheme and who we believe can be a big part of creating a greener economy across Europe in the future.
Some more nice quotes
“I feel more confident in an international environment, in the work place and in my personal life.”
“I feel more confident in finding a job than I ever have before.”
“I met great people and created a bigger network. Now I feel more confident in my Spanish and managed to live in another country with people of different backgrounds.”
(Photos below by Lydia Bourhill)