Rebecca's Youth Choices Story

Negative experiences in school and college left Rebecca with barriers around learning in a classroom and meeting people they didn’t know.

They said, “I didn’t really like college; I was only there because I had to be…I didn’t like the room setting, I’ve had a lot of bad experiences in classes.”

When Rebecca decided to join Breakthrough’s Youth Choices course, it was simply a way for them to get out of the college classroom, but they found the experience has been entirely positive.

“I really liked the parts where we were doing team building exercise; I really liked the practical things. I do struggle with getting to know people; this has helped to overcome that.”

The negative experiences in the past left Rebecca with barriers around confidence and anxiety. This led onto feeling anxious about certain situations.

They said, “I was really anxious about using computers and I have a panic when I’m in front of one of them. I can’t stand it.”

As with all Breakthrough’s services, Youth Choices is co-designed with participants. “It was great that we could tell Richard we didn’t like the worksheets he gave us, so he changed that part with us.”

Rebecca has also learned a lot about job searching and has some idea about what they would like to do in the future.

They said; “I’m looking to work in retail, sorting out orders and packing, I like the idea of putting rights things in the right place and having organisation.”

Rebecca has now gone on to join the Greater Manchester Youth Panel, using their new found confidence to fully participate and get enjoyment out of working with new people.

They said, “My confidence was really low, but now I feel more open to speaking to new people. I have a lot more understanding about how to go about looking for jobs – I would recommend Youth Choices to other people.”