Investing in youth leadership is vital to not only the individuals themselves, but to their communities where they can make a positive impact and for businesses, who will one day rely on their skills to serve society’s needs.
That is why this summer, Centrica Energy backed the inaugural Future Leaders Academy, delivered alongside John Woodcock, MP for Barrow and Furness. The Academy helped more than 90 children in our local Barrow and Furness communities during a three-week camp, which focused on helping 10-year olds learn the skills they need to become the leaders of tomorrow.
With below average numeracy and literacy, young people in the area face significant challenges that make it difficult for them to achieve their full potential despite having raw leadership capabilities. A key focus of the camp was therefore on improving their literacy and numeracy, as well as raising aspirations by learning about different career choices available.
New skills were learnt through projects which included launching a marketing campaign and creating their own newspaper, while zorbing and roller-skating challenges highlighted exactly what it meant to be a good team player.
With most of our people at the Barrow Terminals having come from the surrounding area, many of our people were keen to give back to their local community. It was therefore a great way for our people to roll-up their sleeves and develop their own skills – particularly for our apprentices like Jamie Wylie, who recognised the important role youth clubs played in his own development and wanted to ensure others had the opportunity to realise their true potential too.
Darrell Hampshire, Barrow Terminals Manager, said: “It’s been a privilege being involved in this year’s Future Leaders Academy and to see the children grow in confidence. I’m hoping to see some of them in the future – perhaps as one of our apprentices in our own ‘future leaders’ programme, or maybe even in my seat as the Terminals Manager!”
John Woodcock, MP for Barrow and Furness, commented: “I’m so grateful to everyone whose given so much time and resource into making this happen, particularly to Centrica, who have come on board as the main sponsor…If we sustain it through the years, it’s going to make a real difference to the area and I’m really proud of that”.
We have a lot of history in Barrow having processed gas production at the Terminals for more than 30 years - we look forward to continuing to make an important difference in our local community, both today and tomorrow.
Find out more about how we are working to generate skills for the future.