West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) partnered with The Prince’s Trust to deliver the Get Started with Boxing program aimed at 16 to 30-year-olds not in employment, education or training.
The Get Started Programs are part of an ongoing partnership between WYFRS and The Prince’s Trust. Each one sees young people spend a week developing the confidence and key skills they need to make the next positive steps in their lives. The most recent week of activities took place at Dewsbury Fire Station when the young people took part in a boxing program. While developing their boxing skills the young people also gained personal skills such as self-discipline, teamwork, and communication.
Basic first-aid skills
In addition to this, they also gained basic first aid skills and learnt about nutrition and healthy eating"
Rebecca Shooter, Youth Interventions Trainer at WYFRS who led the program, said: “We had a wonderful group of young people on this program who were willing to step outside their comfort zones and make the most of every opportunity presented to them.
“During their time at Dewsbury Fire Station, they took part in activities that helped them gain resilience and work together as a team. In addition to this, they also gained basic first aid skills and learnt about nutrition and healthy eating. The young people also heard about fire safety, how to stay safe at home and what to do if they ever see or are involved in a fire.”
WYFRS and partners
All the skills they learned during the course were put to the test in the final challenge of the week where they delivered the fitness session they had developed. They delivered this to WYFRS and partners. They also gave a presentation about what they had achieved from their week on the program to an audience of family members, The Prince’s Trust and WYFRS partners.
The Get Started with Boxing program has inspired several young people to get involved with boxing at their local gym and to carry on improving techniques and skills within the sport. At the end of the program, several of them spoke about how the course had helped them make the next steps in their lives.
New life skills
I’ll definitely continue with boxing after this week, as it not only has health benefits but also discipline"
One young person said: “I have made a lot of bad decisions. I knew I had to change and doing this program has helped me to have more self-discipline as well as learn new life skills that will help me in the future.”
Another said: “Everyone has been so positive and encouraging and I’ve made some great mates. I’ll definitely continue with boxing after this week, as it not only has health benefits but also discipline, which I needed as I was struggling to keep myself out of trouble. The week has been brilliant as it’s built a bit of confidence and I actually achieved goals instead of just setting them. It’s been great to see the progression we’ve all made.”
WYFRS and Prince’s Trust partnership
The Get Started programs, delivered through the WYFRS and Prince’s Trust partnership include boxing, health and fitness, survival and emergency response. The programs give young people from across West Yorkshire the chance to meet new people, try new things and develop transferable employment skills.
Daniel Siggins, Prince’s Trust Youth Development Lead for the Get Started with Boxing program said: “To see the development of this group of young people over just the space of a week was amazing, the dynamic of the group allowed them to motivate one another to push themselves a little bit more each day. A huge thank you to the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service staff who made this program the success it was.”
