European Social Fund (ESF) Case Study - The Prince's Trust - Journey to Success

The Prince’s Trust Awards recognises the achievements of young people who have succeeded against the odds. This is the story of a participant who won the Northern Ireland Belfast City Council Young Ambassador Award.

Participant's story

The participant was a young mother when her relationship ended, leaving her a single mum of three children. She was constantly stressed and finding it difficult to keep her head above water.

She explains:

“I went into survival mode. I was a single mum to three children, struggling to make ends meet and the huge costs of childcare were a real barrier to being able to find work until my eldest two children started school.”

She continues:

“Although I managed to get a job, it was only a temporary contract and when I was let go I remember going back to the JobCentre so down. As fate would have it, someone from The Prince's Trust was there and persuaded me to join ‘Team’. They even paid for my childcare so I could go!”

Building confidence and employability

‘Team’ is a 12-week programme from The Prince’s Trust that builds the confidence and employability prospects of unemployed young people.

The participant says,

“The course was amazing and being around the other young people made me realise I wanted to work in the youth sector. Once again, The Trust stepped up to support me, this time with a Development Award to study Youth Work.”

A Development Award is specialist funding from The Prince’s Trust to help unemployed young people access training, education or work.

She says:

“I’m now working as an Assistant Team Leader, and also became a Young Ambassador so I could spread the word about mental health and The Trust’s brilliant work. I feel so lucky to be where I am now. My children are happier, I'm in a job that I love and I am genuinely optimistic about our future.”