Latest / The PCR Sports Show / The PCR Sports Show - Friday 22nd May 2026 - With Dean Watson, Peterborough United Foundation's Youth Employment Manager

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The PCR Sports Show - Friday 22nd May 2026 - With Dean Watson, Peterborough United Foundation's Youth Employment Manager · The PCR Sports Show

0:16
Welcome to PCR Sports, good evening and welcome to the PCR
0:21
Sports Show here on PCR FM for the start of your sporting
0:25
weekend. And it looks like it's going to
0:27
be a hot one out there this weekend, so stay well hydrated
0:30
if you are taking in some sporting activity this weekend.
0:34
I'm Neil Eschen as always on our show every Friday between 6:00
0:37
and 7:00, we'll bring you the latest from the local sporting
0:41
scene from our city of Peterborough and the surrounding
0:44
areas. We'll have the headlines very
0:46
shortly with DIPAM, but the topic of this discussion on this
0:50
evening's show is the Peterborough United Foundation's
0:53
Youth Employment Hub, and we'll be chatting to Dean Watson all
0:58
about it very shortly. But first, let's cover off your
1:02
headlines this week with DIPAM. Dinesh, good evening
1:05
Peterborough. Here are your supporting
1:06
headlines on PCR Sports this evening, starting with football.
1:10
Peterborough Sports announced Graham Drury as their new
1:12
manager this week. The former Stanford AFC and
1:15
Matlock Town boss takes charge following Sports relegation for
1:18
the National League North and will aim to lead the club back
1:21
to Step 2 of football. Jury has already begun shaping
1:24
his squad with Jordan Cook, Leon Lobjoin and George Hobbins all
1:29
confirmed as new signings this week.
1:31
The club will now look to rebuild quickly ahead of the new
1:33
campaign. Cricket Peter Town Cricket Club
1:36
are through to the semi final of the ECB National Club
1:39
Championship despite suffering defeat on the field against
1:42
Hornsea Cricket Club. The match was later awarded to
1:44
Town after Hornsey were found to have failed have fielded 2
1:48
ineligible players due to an administrative error.
1:51
As a result, Peterborough Town progressed into the semi finals
1:53
where they will face Waltham Cricket Club on Sunday the 31st
1:56
of May and PCR Sports will be there to cover the action.
2:00
It's T20 Finals day this Sunday with four sides battling out for
2:03
silverware. Geddington Town take on
2:06
Kislingbury Temperance in one semi final while finding Cricket
2:09
Club play Stony Stratford in the other, getting to head into semi
2:13
final into the finals day in strong form, recording five wins
2:17
from their six matches with one game abandoned.
2:19
PCR Sports again will be there to cover the final on Sunday
2:22
evening, with highlights and coverage available on our
2:24
YouTube channel from Monday. So the Northampton Premier
2:28
League season gets underway tomorrow with local sides
2:30
beginning their new campaigns. Peterborough Town will start at
2:33
home against Loddington and Moseley, while Houndle Town
2:37
travelled to Old Northamptonians and defending champions find and
2:40
begin their title defence with a home fixture against Gerdington.
2:44
Meanwhile, in the Lincolnshire Premier League there were
2:46
victories last weekend for both Bourne and Spalding, with Bourne
2:50
currently leading the table. This weekend Bourne travelled to
2:52
Bracebridge Heath while Spalding welcomes Sleaford Cricket Club
2:56
to their home venue in boxing. Top Yard Boxing Club fighters
3:01
have delivered a series impressive performance at the
3:03
club's latest home show in Peterborough.
3:05
A packed crowd watched a number of exciting contests featuring
3:08
some of the city's brightest young talents, with several Top
3:11
Yard fighters producing dominant displays in front of their home
3:13
supporters. The event showcased the strength
3:16
and the depth within the club with unbeaten performances,
3:18
strong point victories, strong points, victories, victories and
3:22
eye-catching displays from a number of rising prospects.
3:26
Peter Town Amateur Boxing Club Peter Police Amateur Boxing Club
3:29
Youngster Dylan Watt enjoyed a dream start to his boxing career
3:32
with superb debut victory competing in his first bout what
3:36
produced an assured performance to claim an impressive win and
3:39
underline his potential as one of the club's promising
3:41
youngsters. Success continues for the long
3:44
spell of the Peterborough Police Club fighters with several boxes
3:47
producing encouraging displays in recent weeks.
3:50
In athletics, Peterborough and Neen Valley Athletic Club
3:53
produced a strong team performance to finish third at
3:56
the Embankment event in Nottingham.
3:57
The stand out display came from Louis Legresli who delivered a
4:00
super personal best in the 1500 race by knocking 11 seconds of
4:05
his previous mark. Several other athlete athletes
4:08
who impressed across the meeting as Panvac secured a podium
4:11
finish against strong opposition.
4:13
Panvac also enjoyed victories in the Deeping 10K.
4:17
Club runners have secured both team and age group honours at
4:20
the popular Deeping event, continuing an impressive run of
4:23
results for the City club. In cycling, Peterborough Cycling
4:27
Club rider Jamie Murray produced an excellent performance at the
4:31
Grohl UCI Gravel Race in Scotland.
4:33
Competing in the 46 to 49 age category, Murray finished 6th
4:38
after competing the demanding 111 kilometre course featuring
4:42
more than 1700 meters of climb in an hour in the time of three
4:45
hours and 34 minutes and 33 seconds.
4:49
Club mate Paul Pardo completed the same category, finishing
4:52
56th. The Fenland Clarion Cycling Club
4:56
rider Chris Cummings is up to third in the Northampton and
4:59
District Cycling Association 1010 mile time trial time trial
5:04
standings after an excellent performance at the weekend.
5:07
Cummings was the fastest of the 6th Fenland Clarion riders on
5:10
the Lamport to Rothwell course, clocking 25 minutes and 39
5:14
seconds on his road bike. He also sits second in the road
5:18
bike standings overall. Saw Tree veteran Steve Skellen
5:21
was the next home in 26 point O2 while Ian Wadley Love recorded
5:26
26.34. Lindsay Clarke finished just two
5:30
seconds behind Wadley Love and claimed a victory in the women's
5:33
race. Meanwhile, Finland Clarion will
5:35
host the next round of the youth racing.
5:38
The next round of the youth racing on this on Friday the
5:40
22nd of May at the Embankment Athletic Track on Bishops Rd.
5:44
with all school age riders welcome to take part.
5:47
For further details, contact MALC at
5:49
publicity@finlandclarion.co.uk And in golf, Milton Golf Club is
5:55
set to host a prestigious new Golf event featuring a £22,000
6:00
prize fund. The Callaway Chrome Tour PGA
6:02
Open Series will bring leading PGA professionals across the UK
6:06
to the club on May the 26th and 27th.
6:09
Organisers are hoping the tournament will help showcase
6:12
both the quality of the course and the growing profile of the
6:15
golf of golf in the region, with spectators expected to attend
6:19
throughout the event. In Triathlon, Patrick Paul
6:23
unstruck gold at the British National Duathlon Championships
6:26
in Stamford. The event formed part of the
6:28
Burley Multisports Weekend where Patrick competitors completed an
6:32
impressive hall of three first places, 3 second places and two
6:35
third places, finishing across all the races.
6:39
Lund was fourth after competing the 6.2 file run but dominated
6:42
the 25 mile bike section to move into the lead before holding on
6:46
comfortably during the final 3.1 mile run.
6:49
He also recorded the fastest closing run split to win his age
6:53
cattery by almost 4 minutes. Clubmate Jack Shipton claimed
6:57
silver in his age group to secure his first championship
7:00
medal. Patrick athletes also impressed
7:03
at the Sprint triathlon in Home Pierpont, Nottingham, which
7:06
served as a qualifying event for next year's World Championships
7:09
in Hamburg. Competing against one of the
7:11
countries top athletes, Sophie Robottom delivered an
7:13
outstanding performance to win her age group by almost 3
7:16
minutes and secure qualification.
7:19
And those are your headlines. Back to you.
7:21
Cheers, Defam. Thank you very much.
7:23
Safe to say I think the summer season of sport as well and
7:27
truly arrive now. Yeah, absolutely.
7:29
Athletics in full swing, cycling, cricket obviously.
7:31
And yeah, certainly the weather today and over this weekend is
7:34
gonna be very summer. So yeah, it's great to see that
7:37
those outdoor events really, you know, taking place and, and
7:41
with, with good purpose as well without, you know, less grill,
7:45
there's less risk of the wind, the weather interrupting
7:48
certainly this weekend, so. Definitely so great, great
7:51
results there for some of our local sporting clubs and plenty
7:53
more to come this weekend from them as well.
7:55
We'll just take a short break now, but we'll be back with Dean
7:58
Watson, Peace Be United Foundation's Youth Employment
8:01
Hub Manager, and we'll be finding out all about the
8:04
employment, Youth Employment Hub very shortly with him.
8:20
Good evening. Welcome back to the PCR Sports
8:22
Show here on PCR FM. Thank you for joining us once
8:26
again on this Friday evening for the start of the Bank Holiday
8:30
weekend. We're here every Friday 6 till 7
8:33
bringing you the latest Sports News from in and around our city
8:37
of Peterborough. Whether that be the local
8:39
amateur scene or even the professional sports scene and
8:42
the clubs in our city. We try and cover as many
8:46
different sports as possible and tonight is no different.
8:49
We're going to be talking about Peterborough United Foundation's
8:52
Youth Employment Hub, which is recently opened and delighted to
8:58
say we've got in the studio with us this evening.
9:01
Dean Watson, who is the Hub manager.
9:04
Welcome, Dean. Welcome.
9:05
Thank you. Good to have you with us and
9:10
where should we start? I mean, it's been quite a rise
9:12
for the Hub, hasn't it? When I see the stats that you've
9:14
sent through to me in terms of the engagement that you've had.
9:17
But let's start with the foundation first.
9:20
Just give us a little bit of an overview of the Peterborough
9:22
United Foundation for our listeners who may not know of it
9:25
or know as much about it as they think they do.
9:27
Yeah, so the foundation is the charity arm of football club.
9:30
It's a self organization in its own right.
9:34
It's aim is to provide sporting opportunities to young people of
9:39
all ages, actually not just young people but of all ages
9:41
across the city, but to use sport as a tool to breakdown
9:45
barriers within the city that people are facing.
9:48
And again, you talked about all ages there and all activities as
9:51
well because they put on foundation puts on yoga classes
9:55
all the way to walking football to the half term summer camps,
9:58
for example. So that really does encompass
10:01
quite a breadth of of opportunities for people to get
10:05
involved. It does, and there's pretty much
10:07
anything anybody would like to get involved in within the
10:10
foundation. It's there, I say from health,
10:13
well-being, school work, football, participation and
10:17
social cohesion through to different, different clubs
10:21
throughout the evening and the weeks.
10:22
It's just there for everyone really.
10:24
And it's fun. You know, the impact sports
10:27
going to have on people's mindsets is is amazing and
10:31
through the foundation we hope to bring that to as much people
10:34
as we can in the city. Yeah, sport does play a pivotal
10:36
part, isn't it? People see it as the physical
10:38
activity, but I suppose the mental benefits of taking part
10:41
in a team activity or a sporting activity also pays off as well.
10:45
Oh yeah, I'm, I'm sport through and through.
10:48
Like since I've been at school, sport has played a vital part of
10:51
my life, but not just personally, but professionally
10:54
with regards to the, the jobs I've had in in my career and
10:57
being able to use sport as the tool to help and engage with
11:00
just different people who might not be long confidence or might
11:02
not have the belief in themselves.
11:04
And again, each program that is delivered in the foundation aims
11:08
to provide the opportunity for people just to relax, come and
11:11
try something new, fail at something, learn about it.
11:14
But sport is that environment that we have to fail to to, to
11:19
to improve ourselves. Yeah, I suppose you could call
11:22
it a bit of an icebreaker really, couldn't you?
11:23
That common ground, you know, helps breakdown those barriers,
11:26
which then hopefully opens up more conversations to support
11:30
not just the youth in the city, but the older generation as
11:32
well. A. 100% sport is that so
11:36
regardless if you like football or not, cricket or not, it's a
11:39
conversational piece. But you get to know the person
11:42
or they know the, the, the young person or the adult or the
11:44
senior citizen through sport. And then you get to find other
11:48
areas where you can link them into different, different
11:50
avenues. But obviously it brings people
11:52
together so that their social isolation is is is is is about,
11:57
is gone. Reduced at least.
11:59
Yeah, yeah, definitely reduced. Thank you.
12:01
How's the word? But it's, it's, it's done that
12:06
that sort of situations. It brings new family friends
12:08
together. And I guess it doesn't have to
12:10
be a in that way of actually participating in the sport.
12:14
You could be a administrator or an official of the sport as
12:17
well. I guess that that helps in
12:19
itself because that's a different skill set. 100
12:22
percent, 100% and it's something which I bring we we we talk
12:26
about the youth hub. I don't know, I'm going to go on
12:27
to that in a minute, but the fact that just in sport as
12:31
you're, to answer your, your, your statement there, any job
12:34
you want to do can be done in sport, regardless of if it's
12:37
media, radio broadcasting, analysis, doing the being the
12:40
kitman, organising, welcome people as they come through into
12:44
the club. It can all be done within a a
12:46
grassroots club through to professional club and that goes
12:49
through into any sort of industry as well.
12:52
So the foundation certainly plays a pivotal part in the city
12:55
in giving access for people of all ages to participate.
12:59
Yeah, there's, there's, there's something for everyone.
13:02
It can be used as a stepping stone to engage in something
13:04
new. My own daughter wants to start
13:06
playing football, so starting to engage in her in with the, the
13:10
the holiday clubs that they do is a great way for her to try
13:13
it. But then there's other people
13:15
who actually might be a little bit more elitist and actually
13:17
it's there's something there for them to push and challenge
13:19
themselves. But then also we see quite a lot
13:22
of those young people then become coaches and start to
13:25
develop themselves as well. Yeah, brilliant.
13:27
Right. Let's come on to the Youth
13:29
Employment Hub then, which is why you're here tonight, and to
13:31
talk about the project that's ongoing there as part of
13:35
Peterborough United Foundation. What is the Peterborough Youth
13:39
Hub? You know, explain it to our
13:41
listeners. So the Youth Hub is, so we have
13:45
a part of the stadium, Western Home Stadium, and we've turned
13:49
one of the bars into this youth hub.
13:51
And it's the best way to think about it.
13:53
It's a facility where a young person, 16 to 25 can come in and
13:58
get the the support they need to get into work.
14:01
That could be simple stuff like CVS or helping with cover
14:05
letters or, but it could also mean mental health support, it
14:08
could mean financial advice, it could mean housing supports, you
14:14
name it, It could be there within the hub.
14:17
And it's something where it's a free service for every young
14:20
person to come into the city. And that that's it in a
14:24
nutshell. And we opened up in October last
14:27
year. And as you mentioned earlier on,
14:30
the rise, especially in the last four months has just been
14:33
unprecedented. How did that all come about
14:36
though? Where did the concept initially
14:38
come from then to have a employment youth hub within the
14:41
city? And I guess why that Peter B
14:45
United and why through the foundation, really.
14:47
So there's there's youth hubs across the country in different
14:50
places in different variations. The EFL English Football League
14:54
and the D and DWP want to introduce more youth hubs across
14:59
the country. Peterborough has in comparison
15:04
to the number of people in the city has a high level of young
15:06
people who are not in education, employment and training.
15:10
So needs it's around about 2000, which is a very high number for
15:15
for the city in the area. So the combined authority was
15:20
one of the 8 trailblazer cities. So from national government,
15:24
they were one of the 8 Trail Blazers to be able to deliver
15:27
the program. And from that and the foundation
15:30
of had a thought process for probably about 18 months, how
15:33
can we put a youth hub in the city.
15:35
And it kind of was just like an opportunity where there was
15:38
funding, there was the obviously a trailblazer and then the
15:41
aspirations to put the funding at the the youth hub in place.
15:44
So it's a combination of everything.
15:47
This youth hub is one of the first in the country to offer
15:50
that holistic approach so that young person can get any support
15:53
they need. And that support is anything
15:57
from CV to job applications I guess.
16:00
Yeah, but also personal development.
16:02
OK, So we spend a lot of time so young people, somebody would
16:06
come in, I will need help getting to work.
16:09
I'd I need a new CV or I've got an interview tomorrow when we
16:13
start to unwind that support system and our supports each
16:17
interaction we have with your personal last at least an hour
16:19
with them, the mindsets and personal development comes out.
16:23
So first impressions, how to use social media as a as a tool, how
16:28
to sell yourself in an interview.
16:30
You know the horrible question we've all had.
16:32
Tell me about yourself. How would you answer that
16:35
question? So we we work a lot on the
16:38
personal development side of that young person rather than
16:41
just here's ACV, here's a industry prep, here's how you
16:44
fill out application format. And I guess a lot of that, it's
16:48
confidence as well, you know, and that initial step to walk
16:52
through that door, it would be a challenge for them in itself.
16:55
So I suppose it's getting that message out there that this
16:58
youth hub is available and that support network is available for
17:01
them as well. Definitely and it's something we
17:03
are seeing for the first six months we had 125 young people
17:08
come through. We're now touching to 353 young
17:13
people in total have come through the hub itself.
17:16
So we're seeing the confidence of each one coming through.
17:20
But you're right, confidence plays a big part, and that's
17:22
just not confidence of self. That's also confidence in me.
17:26
How to apply for what? A job or being able to have a
17:28
conversation. It's or having enough
17:30
experience, but being confident in yourself should be.
17:33
Yeah, definitely. For me, that's the number one
17:35
reason #1 burying young people. How do you how do you try and
17:38
break down those barriers then when they first walk through
17:40
that door or if an initial contact is made before they come
17:43
to the Youth hub space techniques support networks
17:48
around you to help, you know, breakdown the breakdown the
17:51
barriers. So if I lay the picture of the
17:53
what the hub is, so we've converted bars, bars, 75 of
17:57
those who are posh friends who have been into that barn know
17:59
what it's about. So we've converted that into the
18:01
youth hub. So it's there's music playing,
18:04
every young person gets offered a drink, soft drink if they want
18:07
to. We have access to five boxes.
18:09
So young person can then go into one of those boxes to relax and
18:12
chill. They're met with somebody on the
18:15
front desk. We're having a conversation.
18:18
The main thing is time. As I mentioned earlier on, an
18:21
interaction with us last at least an hour with the work
18:24
coaches that are there from the job centre, they're half an
18:27
hour. So because we've got the time,
18:29
we're able to have a conversation first before
18:32
tackling the the the employment need.
18:36
And I guess that's the, that's the barrier there, isn't it?
18:38
As well, you don't want to be diving straight into that
18:40
conversation. You've got to try and build that
18:41
trust between between you and the and the young person coming
18:45
through the door. Yes, trust.
18:47
Trust is vital. Being being able to listen and
18:51
vent. So of the hour session, 30
18:53
minutes might just be taken up of I've had a horrible day
18:55
getting into the hub or I found it really difficult or I'm
18:58
struggling with this. As I mentioned, while I was off
19:01
air, we had a young girl who presented herself as homeless.
19:03
So the employment stopped. We got to know her, had a
19:07
conversation that connected her with the right services that she
19:10
could then go away and be supported correctly.
19:13
We've that we've then picked up employment support 3 weeks
19:16
later. So having that conversation,
19:19
being able to listen because every young person is different,
19:23
have has different needs, different desires, different
19:25
outcomes. We can't treat every single one
19:27
with the same brush. So by having that time, that
19:30
allows us to do do what we're doing.
19:33
Brilliant. Some great work going on there
19:36
already and we're certainly going to dive into more detail,
19:39
but we're just going to take a short break now.
19:40
But we'll be back with Dean, who is the Peterborough United
19:44
Foundation's Youth Employment Hub manager very shortly.
19:58
You're listening to PCR Sports. Welcome back.
20:07
Yes, you are listening to the PCR Sports Show here on PCR FM.
20:11
We're here every Friday between 6:00 and 7:00 bringing you the
20:15
latest from the sporting scene from our city of Peterborough
20:19
and the surrounding areas. Tonight we've got on the show
20:22
with us Dean Watson. He's the Peterborough United
20:25
Foundation's Youth Employment Hub manager and we've just been
20:29
discussing what the Peterborough Youth Hub is and the impact it's
20:33
had on many a young person aged between 16 and 25.
20:41
Dean, just sum up the hub again for us, for people who may just
20:46
be joining us half of the show. No problem.
20:48
It's a, it's a, it's a, it's too good to be true.
20:52
And I'd say sometime it's a facility in the city where a
20:55
young person, as you mentioned, can come and get free support
20:58
with regards to any sort of challenge or barrier or need
21:02
they have. There is no contract.
21:04
There's no sign up fee there. You don't, you don't, you don't.
21:07
You're not signed up for six months, six weeks.
21:09
It's just as as it says on the tin.
21:11
Brilliant stuff. And the Hub, It's located at
21:15
London Road, home of Peterbury United in the in the family
21:19
stand there as well. You've had what have we got
21:22
here? Since opening last November,
21:24
you've had 352 young people engage, 211 of those just since
21:28
the 1st of April. You've got 24 of those young
21:33
individuals into employment, 26 into training and 19 crucially
21:38
accessing mental health support as well, which no doubt will
21:42
also support them going forward to help find employment.
21:46
Yes, definitely. And the fact that the the offers
21:50
there, they get to meet Matthew from CPSL mind and have a
21:54
conversation with him and just get to any sort of anxiety,
21:58
stress or management that they have, as well as other things
22:00
into a conversational piece, which sets them up for the next
22:05
challenge, the next barrier, but gives them the tools that they
22:08
can come back to and manage themselves.
22:11
And that's all done in privacy. Yes, three trust building that
22:14
confidence and it's done on a one to one basis.
22:17
Yeah. So one to one basis we have, as
22:21
mentioned, we've got the five boxes.
22:23
So everyone to one session. We have regardless of it's
22:26
mental health training, 1 to one sessions or with their work
22:30
coach, it's all done in the box on that safety level.
22:34
And it's just seen a, a real rise in conversation because
22:40
obviously with mental health, not just with adults, but young
22:43
people, it's, it's something which often isn't talked about.
22:46
But we've got a mental health coach which provides for three
22:49
sessions over 12 weeks to have those conversations.
22:54
Invaluable is what I'm what is the impression I'm getting in
22:57
terms of the support that you offer those, those young people
23:01
in our city as well. So in practice then it's very
23:05
much about the individual, their individual needs and it's
23:09
definitely not a broad brush stroke of make you know of
23:14
having one on size fits all. It's very much an individual
23:17
basis. Yeah, so there's there's two
23:19
different avenues into the youth hub 1 is through the work coach.
23:23
So they have the UC appointments at the at the youth hub now and
23:27
then also they get referred to the employment team at the
23:31
foundation. So myself and and or Alicia, at
23:35
that point, they get their own learning plan which they create
23:37
with us and then that dictates and manages how we work with
23:41
them based off how they learn, how they engage what what actual
23:44
support they want and need. And then we can then refer them
23:48
or access them to different services.
23:50
Either that be CSPCSPC, PS: L mind, steadfast training, job
23:57
smarts or any other training providers Cross Keys homes for
24:01
financial advice or even light project if they have any housing
24:06
issues or or they're they're in that situation.
24:08
So again, crucially, you're a one stop shop, which is
24:12
signposting people as well because individuals may not know
24:16
what they need necessarily or where to turn to.
24:18
But if they can come to, you know, your youth hub, that
24:22
they've got that opportunity to ask those questions and they'll
24:24
be pointed in the direction of the support that they need.
24:28
Yes, definitely. And we can ask the questions as
24:30
well, so we can see the trends of what a young person's having
24:34
and especially with the barriers and challenges.
24:37
We can then ask certain questions, which kind of gives
24:40
the stem, the self reflection of what actually is happening and
24:43
what support they need, but also helps them to identify the key
24:47
strengths that they've got. So we talked to quite a lot a
24:50
bit at the moment that, you know, the challenges and
24:51
barriers that young people are facing, but understanding what
24:54
key strengths they have and the abilities that they've got in
24:57
front of them through a conversational piece, it is, is
25:01
invaluable. It's something which we don't do
25:04
as adults. We had, I remember my mentor
25:07
when I was when I started working.
25:08
You guys probably remember your own.
25:11
We're finding not a lot of young people have mentors outside of
25:15
the household or even have young people in young people, adults
25:19
within the household are trusted who are trusted and they can
25:21
provide that unbiased and emotional support or guidance.
25:26
So we can we we try to try to provide that as much as we can.
25:31
And you do all this, but there's obviously you've mentioned some
25:35
of your partners there, you also work with local employers as
25:37
well to utilise their skills and bring them into the youth hub to
25:43
help provide that expertise I guess as well.
25:46
And you couldn't do it without it being a collective effort.
25:49
Oh, 100%. So the first six months to where
25:52
we are now was very much about the service we provide the young
25:55
person in the hub. As we progress further forward,
25:58
it's about engaging with employers and I've had a few
26:00
conversations with employers and yeah, we've had some come in and
26:05
do mentoring, mock mock interviews, spent the whole day
26:10
just talking to young people, introducing assessment centres
26:13
and how to promote and sell themselves.
26:15
But then also we're looking at site visits as well.
26:17
So how can we take 5 or 6 young people to different industry,
26:21
industries and companies in the city to provide them a vision of
26:24
what that company looks like? That's crucial, isn't it,
26:28
because they may not have had that opportunity during school
26:33
if that opportunity hadn't been there or for whatever reason,
26:35
they weren't able to attend school up until the age of 16.
26:39
And being able to go into a workplace potentially for the
26:43
first time, it's perhaps less daunting if they're doing it
26:47
with their peers and the support of the hub itself and.
26:51
They can see the amount of different jobs within that
26:55
industry. So going into, into a mechanical
26:58
place, it's not just fixing and doing the mechanical side.
27:00
There's, there's so much more going on there.
27:03
Likewise, if you're going into a sports industry, into the
27:06
football club, it's there's so much more than I went to a
27:10
school early this week and asked them what jobs are in a football
27:12
club and they're like playing managers coach.
27:14
I was like, well, there's a kid man.
27:15
There's the person does the, the photography, this person does
27:18
the programmes. There's there's a maintenance
27:19
guys, but when we're able to take young people to sites, they
27:23
can see all these different jobs and go, oh, I want to be
27:26
accountant, I can do accountancy here or I want to be an
27:29
architect. Well, I can actually do design
27:32
here and do this sort of stuff there.
27:35
It's it's really heartwarming to hear that support is out there.
27:40
I guess it's also getting that message out to of those 16 to 25
27:46
year olds that that support is out there and I guess does
27:49
social media play a part in that?
27:51
How do you get that message out? I guess that the youth hub is
27:53
there for them. So it's, it's been social media
27:56
has been a key part utilising the club, you know, utilising
27:59
the badge and put it into programmes that have these sort
28:02
of conversations. We've had national radio, radio,
28:06
TV come into the hub and had conversations.
28:08
So that helps. This morning I was in a in a
28:11
secondary school in the city providing mock interview
28:13
support. So continue to do those sort of
28:16
things to handle it out, but then also looking at how can we,
28:23
sorry, also looking at what we can do and how we can engage and
28:26
improve that. A lot of the young people that
28:29
have come through, have come through because of their use
28:30
Universal Credit appointments. As I mentioned, the young
28:35
people, a lot of young people tend to have the Universal
28:37
Credit appointments at the Youth Hub now.
28:39
So a lot of the first contact is through those appointments and
28:42
then they're referred often to our team or another service in
28:45
there. And I guess again, that's very
28:47
support related that they're able to come to a safe, secure
28:52
environment where they're coming from the Universal Credit
28:55
perspective, but there's other support available at that same
28:59
time. So they're not having to make a
29:00
special trip in different places, part of the city, A.
29:03
100% and that's, I often sit back and watch the magic and
29:06
happen where somebody is having a Universal Credit appointment
29:11
through that. Then they talk about training
29:13
needs. So they've then stopped that
29:14
appointment and goes directly to one of the training providers,
29:18
find the course, book them on the course there and then so
29:20
they're not having to go away and wait for another phone call,
29:23
which is a private number which they don't answer.
29:25
And there's so many issues there.
29:27
They then resume the Universal Credit appointment and then they
29:31
talk about mental health challenges, then stopped again
29:33
and it's gone off to the mental health coach and they booked in
29:36
for an appointment there and then with that person and then
29:40
same with employment. So it's, it's actually quite
29:42
nice to see that vision where you say it's, it's everything's
29:45
in one space and because of where it is and we have nice
29:51
views of the football pitch, it brings it even if somebody's not
29:55
involved like like football, it just brings the anxiety down.
30:00
And I guess it's, but also that could be down to the fact that
30:03
they're not, they're surrounded by like minded people as well,
30:06
people that support them. It's not an environment that
30:09
hopefully comes across as very, you know, businesslike, you
30:12
know, it's a very relaxed environment.
30:14
I think there's lots of furnishings in there from what
30:16
I've seen from images on the, you know, from the videos that
30:18
you've put out. Yeah.
30:19
So we've got quite a few low chairs, high tables, high chairs
30:22
and then obviously in the boxes we've got the like the small
30:25
sofas which are used. We've converted one of the the
30:28
boxes into a well-being room so they can access online free
30:32
counselling support through Couth or Quail.
30:36
And it's just that nice environment.
30:38
Being offered a drink when you walked in, having a
30:41
conversation. We have Jenga, we've got a few
30:43
other card games and stuff. So it's just that sort of
30:45
environment where if you just want to come and chill, just
30:48
come and chill. You don't have to come in for
30:49
employment support or mental health support, It's just an
30:51
environment where you want to come in and choose the music for
30:54
the day. As long as it's as long as it's
30:57
PG. And to your liking, no doubt as
31:00
well. Yeah, definitely brilliant
31:02
stuff, right? We're just going to take another
31:04
short break and get some messages and we'll be back with
31:07
Dean Watson, who is Peterborough United Foundation's Youth
31:11
Employment hub manager. You're listening to PCR Sports.
31:27
Good evening, welcome back to the PCR Sports show.
31:29
If you haven't missed any of the show so far, we've been talking
31:32
to Dean Watson, Peterborough United Foundation's Youth
31:35
Employment Hub manager. You can listen back to what he's
31:39
had to say so far through the PCRFM app online through the
31:43
website whichispcrfm.co.uk. We'll keep an eye on our social
31:49
media feeds over the weekend where you'll be able to watch
31:53
Dean and listen to all about the Youth Employment Hub and the
31:58
great work that it does in our city for all all 16 to 25 year
32:03
olds who are not in education, employment or training.
32:09
Have I got that right, Dean? Yes, but I also add, so we just
32:14
spoke about being very fluid. So if a young person is within
32:17
school, has a part time job, it still has a concern they can
32:20
still come down. It's not exclusively for young
32:22
people who are not an education trainer employment and that's
32:27
something which I we're trying to adjust as we step into year
32:30
two of the of the program. We talked about this being year
32:34
2 or approaching year two of the project.
32:38
Is this a a time limited project at the moment or is it down to
32:42
the funding that you'll receive over the course of time?
32:45
It's not. I wouldn't say it's a time
32:46
limited project because as I mentioned right at the start,
32:49
there is a need and a design nationally for youth hubs to be
32:53
in every single DWP job centre district in in the country and
32:59
the English Football League also have that desire.
33:01
So there is a need. Obviously funding does come into
33:04
it. We're not that that's delusional
33:07
to think it is not, but we've got the support by the combined
33:11
authority. We're working closely with them
33:14
to ensure that the Youth Hub stays relevant in Peterborough
33:18
and continues to lead the way. Because we are having other
33:21
cities come to the Peterborough Youth Hub to find out what we're
33:26
doing, because we're the only one at the moment, or one of the
33:29
first ones to have this holistic approach of delivery. 352 young
33:34
people you've engaged with 200 / 200 since the 1st of April 24 an
33:40
hour in employment, 26 into training, 19 accessing mental
33:43
health support. I mean, those figures, you know,
33:47
you should feel proud of that, but you know, there's a lot more
33:49
work to be done in the city A. 100% proud of it, especially
33:53
going from zero in November to where we are now.
33:57
We, we worked out, I worked out yesterday for a different, you
34:02
know, data input we've provided. So the figures we, we just
34:07
talked about there were about the numbers that have come into
34:09
the hub. We have provided 1 to 1 support,
34:14
myself and it or mainly Alicia have provided 1 to 1 support to
34:18
over 100 young people on a regular basis.
34:21
And we have currently about 52 we're currently working with on
34:25
a bi weekly basis. So extremely proud of what we've
34:29
been able to deliver. We wouldn't have been able to
34:32
deliver out the partners that are involved.
34:34
They've played an integral, integral part of how it's
34:37
developed and how it's created and will do going forward.
34:41
But then also the young people that have come in, they have
34:45
also impacted and what we've delivered.
34:48
So we've had to change the topics we've delivered, how we
34:51
deliver, what services are needed.
34:53
Some have come in and said they needed XX support with regards
34:58
to machinist machinery or music. So we've had to go find these
35:03
organizations to provide that guidance for us.
35:07
I guess word is spreading amongst their peers as well
35:10
then. You know, if they've got friends
35:12
who are also in a similar situation to them, they're
35:14
telling them about the Hub and the support that they've been
35:17
offered as well. Yeah, yeah, very much so.
35:19
So obviously we've had brothers and sisters being referred to by
35:22
their by their siblings. I was in a meeting appointment
35:25
with, with one young person and he called his, his friend and
35:29
told him to get down here and he needed the support.
35:34
So yeah, the word of mouth is getting out there.
35:37
We mentioned about trust we have to build with, with young
35:39
people, but on a one to one basis.
35:41
But actually we, we're, we're a new, new entity in the city.
35:45
We have to build trust with our partners with with companies
35:48
that what we're doing is able to support in the right way.
35:51
Yeah, and also facilitates their needs I guess as well in terms
35:54
of their objectives to supporting the Hub itself.
35:58
Yes, 100%. Everyone's got targets,
36:00
everyone's got KPIs, everyone needs to and needs to achieve
36:03
something. But the beauty of what I've been
36:06
able to to we've been able to do and I've been able to have
36:08
conversations with is everybody wants to help, which has been
36:13
mind blowing. And the headache for me is
36:15
trying to organize these, these partners and these organizations
36:18
to be in so that we're all not in at the same time, which
36:20
overwhelms anyone coming in. I was going to ask you what type
36:24
of industries or employees are you seeing either that you're
36:27
most engaged with right now or would like to be and aren't
36:31
necessarily in touch with them at the moment?
36:33
So from hospitality, we're currently have work with some
36:38
High Street shops, restaurants in town, some machinist
36:42
companies in the city, some some big ones, some UPS up starters.
36:49
Obviously with the football club, the catering and crowd.
36:52
We actually got a course which has just been put back.
36:56
I've had a new date just for for stewarding.
36:59
So anyone with Crowdsafe? Yeah, so we're running with Job
37:03
Smart while they're running a crowd, a level 2IN stewarding
37:07
course with with interviews at Crowdsafe if they're successful.
37:12
We need numbers, we need people to do that.
37:14
So but yeah, we've got a majority we're still trying to
37:19
look at, if I'm being honest. It's just if any organisations
37:23
out there willing to offer some advice and guidance.
37:26
Perfect. You had a conversation with
37:27
recruitment agency yesterday willing to provide CV support
37:31
social media guidance support days mentoring with any young
37:35
person wanting any sort of job through to you know the the
37:41
dream is obviously work experience increasing that work
37:44
trials but we start where we can and just introducing your people
37:47
to. So how can they get hold of you
37:50
to to provide that support and service?
37:52
So the best way is the Youth Hub e-mail address,
37:56
whichisjustyouthhub@theposh.com. That will be then referred
38:00
directly to myself or to one of the other colleagues.
38:04
We get back to them, but just highlighting what they can do,
38:07
what they want to do, or even just having the conversation.
38:11
I'm always up for a conversation to see what there's no right or
38:15
wrong way. There's not.
38:16
I don't have a sheet saying you must take this, saying you must
38:18
provide this, this and this. It's really much.
38:21
What can we do? How can we work together to
38:23
achieve your needs? And for the 16 to 25 year olds
38:27
that you're supporting? Yeah, exactly.
38:30
So if you are 1% unsure about what you want to do in your
38:36
career or what your next steps are, more importantly what your
38:38
next steps are and you just want a sound board, then youthub at
38:43
theposh.com is the e-mail address.
38:45
You can go to the the foundations website.
38:47
There is a a link, there's a web page on there with the Youth Hub
38:53
and then there's a register your interest which comes directly to
38:56
us. And what are the opening hours
38:58
of the hub itself? Good question, I should have
39:00
started with that. That's fine.
39:02
That's why we're here for to get as much information out as
39:04
possible. I always forget about that.
39:06
It's Monday to Thursday, 3:50. Yeah, perfect dipam.
39:10
Just a quick question for me really in terms of what about
39:13
people who have perhaps got life challenges through disabilities,
39:16
neurodiversity, do you kind of provide a service that kind of
39:19
is, is like say fluid for people that have those sort of
39:22
challenges as well? Yes, so as mentioned, everyone
39:24
who comes in is, is approached in that sort of way as unique
39:28
and as a as a unique individual with their own super strength.
39:32
The delivery we take because we've got the time we can
39:35
adjust. So, you know, we've, we've had,
39:37
we've not had to, but we've inputted certain things like
39:41
fidget toys, that well-being room just to bring down people's
39:44
anxiety, stress, reduce the noise if needed.
39:48
We can take things as slow as fast.
39:51
Some of the appointments we've had with young people in that
39:53
hour have not included employment.
39:55
It's just how do I get to know you?
39:58
You know, there's, there's lift access, there's for, for anyone
40:02
who needs it. We've had young people come in,
40:05
young adults come in with their children and just given some
40:08
toys, played some games, while the parents now can focus on
40:11
that sort of delivery, that one to one support that they need.
40:14
Brilliant. Wow.
40:16
Where do you see this going in the next sort of 12 to 18 months
40:20
very quickly? You know, in terms of the
40:21
growth, you know, those numbers speak for themselves, but
40:25
there's so many more young people out there that need your
40:29
support. I think as I see we continue to
40:32
do what we're doing and do it well, which we are.
40:35
We link better with employees of regards to for their needs, but
40:41
also of education. You know, employment is, is, is
40:45
great, but how can we help the schools with the transition of
40:48
young people through sixth form to college, college to
40:50
university and and so on and just continuing to adjust to the
40:56
needs of it every young person that comes through the door.
41:00
How did you get into all this? I should have asked you this the
41:02
top of the hour. Really.
41:03
I've got a moment. Yeah, I've got about a minute to
41:05
the end of the show. But yeah, how did you get into
41:08
this, to provide this support? Because it takes a special kind
41:11
of person, I would say, to want to be in this sort of position
41:14
to offer that support out there. I don't.
41:17
Know if I'm going to do it in 30 seconds, but I'll give it a go.
41:20
So I had a moment when I was about 40 of like, I don't want
41:26
to do my job anymore And I looked back for my career or
41:29
somebody mentored me and look back at what was I good at?
41:31
What did I enjoy? And throughout my, at that time,
41:34
20 years of working in sports development across the country,
41:38
supporting people, coaching, mentoring, helping communities
41:42
become and feel more like a community was what I've done and
41:46
what I'd enjoyed. So I decided that's what I'm
41:49
going to do. Was fortunate enough to land a
41:51
job with Cross Keys Homes and their communities team and
41:54
provide employment support and then have transitioned over into
41:57
the into the foundation. Wow.
42:00
That's that's the 32nd. Yeah, I hope you feel proud of
42:05
that and the proud of the team around you, I think as well.
42:08
Because yes, you may be sitting in front of us here right now,
42:11
you may have, you know, the hub manager in your title, but
42:15
there's a whole support network here supporting the 16 to 25
42:19
year olds within the city. I couldn't agree with you, you
42:21
more. I'm the spokesperson.
42:25
There's a group of young of young people that come in, but
42:28
also the partners that are engaged and the ones that want
42:30
to be engaged that as I mentioned already, it wouldn't
42:33
happen. This level of support is
42:35
unprecedented in the city in one space and it to to be done.
42:40
So you have the team, the young people, everyone is doing a
42:43
great job and you're 100% proud. Well, keep up the great work you
42:47
and the team at the Youth Employment Hub there.
42:53
Day off today. Well, I'll say day off, it's not
42:55
open today, but you'll be back in on Tuesday, will you?
42:57
I guess with the bank holiday on the Monday.
42:58
Yeah, back in on Tuesday. Yeah, looking forward to seeing
43:02
again. Anyone.
43:02
You don't have to have an appointment.
43:04
You can literally just walk around.
43:06
And how did they get hold of you again?
43:09
At theyouthhub@theposh.com or go to the P3 United Foundation
43:14
website. Perfect.
43:15
And the opening hours. Monday to Thursday, 3:50.
43:18
Excluding the bank holiday, Excluding bank.
43:20
Holidays. Brilliant Dean, thank you for
43:21
coming in. Thank you for coming across from
43:24
the Foundation, Dean Watson there, the Youth Employment Hub
43:27
manager doing some great work in the city, helping to support 16
43:32
to 24 year olds in this city of ours that we have.
43:37
Dick Pump, thank you very much. Once again, great stuff going on
43:40
in the city this weekend. But whatever you're doing this
43:43
weekend, it's going to be a warm one.
43:45
Whether you're at Park Run, taking part in golf, cricket,
43:48
whatever sporting activity you're doing, stay hydrated and
43:52
enjoy it. And as we say, if you're
43:54
volunteering, playing or spectating, we do wish you a
43:57
very successful, enjoyable sporting weekend.