Kickstarting Careers with Mansfield Town

For many young people, finding employment is an arduous process at any time, but adding in a global pandemic made the whole task even more complicated. This is a statement that resonates with many, including Ruth Oldham and Chris Hall-Barnett, who both struggled to find any meaningful employment opportunities despite having high-level qualifications.

The lack of practical, real-world experience was the problem for both individuals. However, Mansfield Town in the Community was the outlet that provided both with opportunities to develop through their Kickstart scheme. The Kickstart programme aimed to help bring young people claiming universal credit, into the workplace.

Prior to her Kickstart role, Ruth studied a BTEC Level Two in Sport where she also gained her FA Level 1 Coaching qualification. With a huge passion for sport, Ruth immediately applied for the vacancy after stumbling across the position at her local job centre.

Ruth explained “I have always played, but it was great to get more involved in the coaching side of the game to add to my experience and knowledge.”

Like Ruth, Chris had also finished a sports qualification at college but felt the pandemic had caused him to lose direction of any employment opportunities. From the beginning, Chris expressed a desire to pursue a career in coaching, so when he was direct to Mansfield Town, it was a dream realised.

He said: “When I was on the college course, we did a lot of session plans, and I really enjoyed the process. I enjoyed standing in front of people and telling them how they could become better, helping everybody else.”

Both Chris and Ruth were individuals who were unsure of their futures and their employment prospects, but now both have secured full-time contracts at the Community Trust as coaches after impressing fellow coaches with their enthusiasm, dedication, and excellent rapport with the children.