Press: ACTION STATIONS AT £5.75 MILLION YOUTH HUB FOR BRISTOL APPRENTICE

To celebrate this year’s record-breaking National Apprenticeship Week, Midas Construction has recruited young apprentice Ashley Jones to join its team in transforming a derelict Fire Station into a world-class youth hub.   

Midas began work on this £5.75 million development, The Station, in early September last year and the state of the art venue aims to open in the autumn.  

Led by the Creative Youth Network (formerly the Kingswood Foundation), this initiative looks to create a safe, neutral space in which young people from all backgrounds can thrive.  As well as a place to chill out, have fun and take part in creative projects, The Station will provide a comprehensive support network offering young people counselling, career guidance and health advice. 

The Station will also give young people access to some of Bristol’s most inspiring people and organisations including the BBC, Aardman and the Bristol Old Vic.

Sandy Hore-Ruthven, Chief Executive of the Creative Youth Network, says: “We’re delighted that Midas has recruited an apprentice for this project – apprenticeships allow young people to develop valuable skills that give them a real head start.

“The Station aims to do something similar – we want to give young people across Bristol the creative opportunities that will allow them to realise their potential. We want to give them real prospects and get them looking forward to bright futures.”

Fourth-year apprentice Ashley says:  “I would recommend an apprenticeship to anyone looking to learn a trade. Getting paid whilst studying keeps you motivated and focused - it feels like you’ve made a commitment that you have to stick to and you’re learning all the time.

“My parents run a youth group in Wales which I’ve been involved in for as long as I can remember so the Station project really appealed to me.” 

Sandy continues: “It’s great to have Ashley’s input in the development process. Young people are at the heart of The Station and our young team of volunteers has been involved in everything from decision-making and capital development to interior design. With Ashley on board, young people are building the Station as well as planning it.”   

Photo Caption (L-R): Sandy Hore-Ruthven, Chief Executive and Ashley Jones, apprentice. 

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Emma Williams on 0117 303 0078 emma.williams@creativeyouthnetwork.org.uk  

Notes to Editors:

1. More details can be found on www.creativeyouthnetwork.org.uk
2. More details about National Apprenticeship Service can be found on www.apprenticeships.org.uk
3. Any ideas for a creative or youth project that makes use of the Station please get in touch with Rachel O’Connor, Programme Director.

Creative Youth Network provides creative opportuntites and challenges to unlock young people’s talent and personality.  Our aim is for young people to excel. We help them grow and succeed through the inspiration of the arts. Our work takes place across sites in Bristol and beyond, with the aim of reaching as many young people as we can. The Charity owns and maintains a 29 acre site in East Bristol where all projects take place.  The site has world class arts facilities and studios and is also a base for 25 other charities, many of whom work with young people.  www.creativeyouthnetwork.org.uk

Four core programmes:

Arts For Life:  A combination of arts and personal development for young people who aren’t getting on at school. They’re able to explore the arts while building self-esteem, emotional resilience and personal responsibility, and ultimately return to school with a new ability to focus.

Urban Academy: An out of school, evening and holiday arts programme for anyone aged 13-19. Dance to drama, DJing to drumming, working with world class artists and performers.

Youth For Youth: Run by young people, the award winning group organise monthly music events plus a massive annual festival attracting 1000+ people

The Station: The Station is a £5.75m partnership project to deliver a world-class, 32,000 sq ft facility for all young people in Bristol.  The Station will be a safe, neutral place, accessible by public transport, that links young people to the services and activities they need to develop creatively and emotionally. Key partners include: Bristol City Council, Young Bristol, Business West, Basement Studios & R.I.O.  The Station is partly funded by the myplace scheme: myplace is a multi-million pound government programme to deliver world class places for young people to go. The programme is funded by the Department for Education (DfE)and administered by the Big Fund (BIG), the non-Lottery funding operation of the Big Lottery Fund.

Ffi visit: Arts For Life, Youth For Youth, Urban Academy, The Station. Follow CYN on Facebook.

Midas

The Midas Group is one of the UK's largest independent construction and property services providers. The Midas Group consists of five market facing businesses:

• Midas Construction - a construction services business delivering innovative design and construction solutions
• Midas Retail - a specialist business providing fast track construction and fit-out solutions to Retail customers
• Midas Interiors - a specialist interiors business providing fit-out and refurbishment services
• Mi-space - a specialist business providing property services to affordable housing providers
• Midas Energy – Renewables, retrofit
• Midas Developments - a specialist property development company. 

Midas is one of the region’s largest employers, with nearly 450 people, as well as providing jobs for additional contractor staff.  The Midas Academy provides bespoke in-house training to all staff and staff turnover rate is well below the industry average.