The Nottingham's £5k donation to support Notts County's goal of providing local young people with brighter futures

The Nottingham Building Society has scored again in the community, by donating £5,000 to Notts County’s Football in the Community team.

The money will help deliver education programmes which allow young people to study for a BTEC Sport or Sport Leader diploma as well as learning functional skills in other core subjects, such as English, Maths and ICT.

Aimed at 16 to 18-year-olds and run in partnership with South Nottinghamshire Academy, the BTEC programme provides students with the opportunity to work towards a vocational qualification for a career in the sport industry or to study further at university.

A report called The Youth Opportunity Index, published by the Learning and Work Institute, ranked Nottingham a lowly 132nd out of 135 UK areas where there was likelihood of a young person being NEET (not in education, employment or training).

And with Government legislation requiring all 16 to 18-year-olds to be in some form of education, training or employment, The Nottingham’s donation will help up to 60 of them locally take part in their education programmes.

The money will be used to purchase technology to ensure lessons can continue in a Covid-19 safe environment and be put towards the cost of new football kit, as the young people also represent Notts County Football in the Community - which in early December will become the Notts County Foundation - in matches as well as engaging in their studies.

Notts County FITC Education Manager Martin Carruthers said: “This is an extremely kind donation from The Nottingham, who have once again shown their dedication to supporting suitable local projects that align with their ethos.

“The money will go towards ensuring that a large group of local young people have a vital career and development pathway, and we can’t thank the Society enough for the role they are playing in delivering that.”

David Marlow, Chief Executive of The Nottingham, added: “Employability has long been a key pillar of The Nottingham’s CSR programme but in these uncertain times it’s more crucial than ever to help inspire young people into the world of work. We are delighted to be able to play a part in the continued success of Notts County’s excellent education and employability programmes.

“We are committed to helping young people in our communities achieve their career and life goals by delivering whatever skills and resources we can as a business as well as getting behind wonderful projects like this.”

The Nottingham’s commitment to employability was also demonstrated in October when pupils at Colonel Frank Seely Academy in Calverton were helped with interactive careers support via an Employer Insight Week which included lessons about The Nottingham, employability, money skills and career insights through virtual work experience.

Throughout the year The Nottingham’s teams have also donated over 220 hours of virtual volunteering time, including career insights and live Q&As and 400 Young Enterprise students were supported through virtual volunteering.