The Forces Employment Charity has partnered with the Naval Children’s Charity (NCC). Together, we will deliver vital career support to children from the Tall Ships Youth Trust’s Empowerment Voyages. Our advisors, Kelly Wales and Sian Kerr, will lead dynamic activities and workshops. The aim of these sessions is to support young people as they start considering their future careers.
The latest voyage, on 2 June 2024, proved to be a success as Kelly and Sian engaged with ten naval children, delivering employability sessions and activities. These sessions are designed to boost young people’s self-esteem and get them thinking about their future career paths.
Set sail on an adventure!
Young people with a parent who has served or is still serving in the Royal Navy or Royal Marines are invited to embark on a thrilling sea adventure along the coast of the British Isles on board one of the Tall Ship Youth Trust’s (TSYT) iconic 72-foot Challenger yachts.
Throughout the voyage, the young people developed many transferrable skills, including communication, teamwork, and problem-solving, which they can use in everyday life and future careers. Working with our advisors, the naval children completed team-building exercises, helping them build their self-confidence.
By introducing a range of group activities and one-to-one sessions, delivered both on and off the ship, our advisors got the young people thinking about their interests and career aspirations. They also helped them identify their strengths and what inspires them.
What can you expect?
“Thinking about your career can be daunting at any age but coupled with having experienced some of the more common setbacks that come with being a child from a Naval family, this can be even more of a challenge. Partnering with the NCC will enable the Forces Employment Charity to help those beginning their career journey. Combining adventure with learning is the perfect recipe for success.” – Kelly Wales, Skills and Education Liaison
Any young person who embarks on the voyage can expect to leave with:
- An understanding of how the Forces Employment Charity team can help them focus on their future and the stepping stones they need to help them find prosperous and sustainable careers.
- Awareness of their skillset and what skills they may want to develop further.
- A trusted career mentor who can support them regardless of where they might move. This person will be someone they can go to for impartial college, university, employment support, and advice.
- Knowledge that Forces Employment Charity support is for the whole family.
- A positive mindset, new friends, and a more extensive support network.
Kelly concludes, “We’d encourage anyone curious about getting involved to sign up!”
If you are considering signing up for the next voyage in October, please note the closing day for applications is Thursday 15 August.
What did the naval children think of the voyage?
Killian Manceau
Killian, aged 19, is currently in his gap year, pondering what to do with his future. He registered with the Forces Employment Charity in March 2024. When asked why he joined the voyage, he said, “I thought doing this voyage would allow me to build on my leadership and know a bit more about myself and how to work with others”. He added that the session with our advisors had “been great. They’re helping us to understand what we’ve learned this week all together as a group and how we can apply it in the future.”
He added, “The was amazing. I also would like to say thank you for the work [the Forces Employment Charity advisors] did with us. It was a great way to end this trip as it rounded up all the skills we learnt during the voyage and how we could use them in the future to reach our goals.”
With the skills and experience he gained from this voyage, along with the support and dedication of his advisor, Sian, Killian has now passed his Royal Air Force interview and is currently waiting to hear back on his joining date.
Harriet Moss
Harriet said that what “made [the experience] great was because we have all come from military backgrounds and sometimes it’s a difficult thing to find people with similar experiences to you. It was such a lovely opportunity to talk to other people about it!”
When asked about how she enjoyed her session with Sian and Kelly, Harriet said, “one thing that does stress me out is not knowing what to do in the future. So, it was comforting to know that there are people there to support me.”
Isabel Dundar
Isabel said that the most valuable lesson she had learned on the voyage was “that it doesn’t matter if you don’t know people, just as long as you work as a team, you can get a lot done.” Working as part of a team is necessary in almost every workforce, and helping our young people understand the importance of working collaboratively despite the team they are in is an incredibly practical life lesson.
She added that the session with Kelly and Sian was “really interesting. It’s been like a good look into how hard life has been with military parents. But it has brought great things like charities who are willing to help, particularly with all the knowledge we’ve lost through moving around.”
Overall, the trip was a success by the end of the voyage, most naval children said they left feeling more confident in themselves. Seven out of ten (70%) attendees said they had given their future some thought but admitted that they wanted to focus more on their futures as the session showed them the array of possibilities and opportunities ahead of them.
Find out more
Our employment advisors support you at every step of your journey. An advisor can offer impartial advice, open your eyes to new training and employment opportunities, and much more.
Register today for bespoke advice on how to kickstart your career as a military child or to learn more about the support delivered by our charity.
