A team of inspirational young leaders who took steps to change their lives for the better have been praised for giving back to their community

Local leaders gathered in Sunderland last week to celebrate the success of the latest Prince’s Trust course.

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS) offer the course in the region and have helped teach hundreds of young people vital life skills.

The most recent course saw 10 young people from across the region, who were at a crossroad in their lives, take the first step towards something new.

And now they have gathered at Farringdon Community Fire Station to receive their end of course certificates from the Deputy Mayor of Sunderland, Councillor Dorothy Trueman who attended the event alongside Deputy Chief Fire Officer Peter Heath.

Those involved in the 12-week course have been praised by the region’s leaders for taking on a new opportunity that can help change their lives.

Divisionary Activities Manager John Anderson, who helps run the course for TWFRS, said “We’ve been working with the Prince’s Trust for nearly 20 years now and the positive effect this course has on its participants is fantastic for our local community.

“Sometimes it’s hard to know what you want to do with your life when you are young, but our Team programme offers young people the chance to do something a bit different and find out more about themselves.

“It was inspiring to hear the success stories of those involved in this latest course, they spoke so highly of the staff and the course it makes me proud to know they’ve really taken something away from the experience.”

The Deputy Mayor of Sunderland, Councillor Dorothy Trueman, said “The Prince’s Trust programme is a tremendous opportunity for young adults to grow in confidence as well as developing teamwork, employment and personal development skills.

“It was wonderful to meet such an inspirational group of young people who have not only helped themselves by demonstrating and developing their own individual abilities and skills, but also helped other people in the team, and in the community.”

The Prince’s Trust Team programme is a 12 week programme ran by TWFRS in Community Fire Stations across the region.

In those 12 weeks, participants are pushed out of their comfort zone by taking part in teambuilding outward bounds residential course; a community project; a two-week work placement; and a next steps training week.

Throughout the course the young people also learn about first aid, drug and alcohol awareness, and take part in a variety of fire safety training activities – where they train alongside current serving firefighters.

The next course begins on 16th January in Washington and Farringdon, if you are interested you can visit the TWFRS website to fill out their online form.

The course will not affect people’s ability to claim benefits, and all travel costs (by bus or metro) will be covered by the programme team.

Under 19s can also apply for a student bursary to enable them to attend the course.