Prince's Trust young people served up a right royal fruit smoothie to Prince Charles during a recent visit to their Dundee Centre.
The young people created a special fruit smoothie for the visit – the Prince’s Fruit Punch – as part of a workshop to teach them basic cookery skills.
The Prince’s Trust Centre in Dundee gives vulnerable young people one-to-one support, helping them stabilise their lives and boost their skills and confidence so they can live independently.
Many of the young people supported by The Trust have faced homelessness, poverty and long-term unemployment.
In Dundee, more than one in five young people are struggling to find a job (22 per cent), according to the Office for National Statistics 2012 annual population survey.
Colin McCabe, 23 from Dundee, who met The Duke today, struggled with severe anxiety issues for five years before receiving support from youth charity The Prince’s Trust.
During his lowest point, Colin struggled to leave the house due to the severe panic attacks he faced. His school work suffered as a result, and he missed the whole of his third year at high school, leaving with no standard qualifications.
Fast forward to today and Colin’s life couldn’t be more different. With intensive support through The Prince’s Trust Fairbridge programme, he has overcome the anxiety issues he once faced and now works at a youth group where he runs workshops for 150 young people. Colin has also just qualified as an educational support assistant, and will be starting in this role in the summer.
He said: "I feel so honoured to meet Prince Charles and it has been amazing to tell him my story.
“I used to stay at home all day, every day and didn’t think I had a future. I never thought it would be possible to achieve anything – let alone be able to stand up and talk to a room of 150 people or teach a classroom of schoolchildren.
“When I first joined The Prince’s Trust course, I didn’t feel I could speak to anyone. During the course, my confidence went through the roof. From that point on, things began to look up for me and I’m so proud of what I’ve managed to achieve. I really enjoying working with young people and want to use my experiences to inspire them and show them that anything is possible.”
Alan Kennedy, acting director of The Prince’s Trust in Scotland, said: "We’re thrilled to have His Royal Highness here today. This is the icing on the cake for our fantastic young people, who have faced huge barriers and worked so hard to turn their lives around.
“More than one in five young people in Dundee are struggling to find a job, so that means the work of The Prince’s Trust is more important than ever.”
Young people from The Prince’s Trust’s first Get into Oil and Gas programme also met The Duke during the visit. The course, funded by the Wood Family Trust, Aberdeen City Council, the Barrack Charitable Trust, and Knight Property Group, helps unemployed young people gain the skills, qualifications and work experience they need to find a job in the engineering sector.
Gavin, 20 from Rosehearty, Aberdeenshire, met The Duke of Rothesay and has already managed to secure a four-year apprenticeship at aircraft company Eurocopter thanks to the Get into Oil and Gas programme.
Gavin has been struggling to get into the engineering industry for a year, applying for countless jobs without receiving a single response.
He said: "It’s such a huge weight off my shoulders now that I’ve managed to get my dream job at Eurocopter. It has been so stressful for me and my family, as I’ve been applying for jobs and being knocked back constantly for the past year. When I was looking for work, I got used to being rejected.
“Meeting Prince Charles is so exciting and I’m really pleased that I’ve had the chance to tell him my story.”
The Get into Oil and Gas course was run with Enterprise North East Trust and Tullos Training.
The Prince’s Trust supports vulnerable young people across Scotland, giving them the skills and confidence to find a job. Last year, The Trust supported more than 4,300 disadvantaged young people across Scotland. Three in four young people on Trust schemes move into work, education or training.
Source: Prince's Trust
