to right to work

Dean Aberdeen Football Club recently teamed up with WorkingRite. The partnership with WorkingRite provided a young person a placement within AFC in the Community for six months. Workingrite is a charity that was set up to tackle the problem of youth unemployment by providing young people with positive role models and a chance to prove themselves in the workplace.

The successful candidate was Dean McBain who had the opportunity to shadow the Scottish FA Community Coaches based at Pittodrie Stadium. Dean has done so well in the in the role of community apprentice he has now been kept on by the club. RedMatchday spoke to him about his experience.

“WorkingRite got me this job and I am very grateful to them. For a start they sent me on a motivation training course for a week. I learnt a lot of life skills and the course helped me a lot. I then had an interview with the AFC in the Community team and the next day I got a phone call to say I had got the job.

“I realise I struck it lucky getting the chance to work at Aberdeen Football Club. When I am feeling tired or having a bad day you just need to walk around the stadium and out onto the pitch. It makes you feel very proud. I am very privileged to be where I am. WorkingRite allows you to work within an organisation for an initial spell with their funding but after six months it is up to the employers. I am really pleased the club have recognised my efforts by giving me an additional contract.

“I would highly recommend the WorkingRite scheme to any young people out there struggling to find work or not really sure where their future lies. I told my friends about the scheme and one of them Connor got a job with the maintenance team at Pittodrie.

“As I have been a season ticket holder for eight years I could not have asked for a better way to start my working life!

“It was quite daunting at first, walking around and seeing the football players and basically working with them was surreal but like everything else you get used to it after a while. It is still a special feeling walking into Pittodrie every morning but I am slowly getting used to it!

“My role involves me helping the AFC in the Community team with the wide range of activities they are involved in. I also help out with the admin side of things. There has been quite a big change in the community department during the time I have been here as they are expanding. The department is taking on more and more roles within the community in Aberdeen and they getting involved in more and more none footballing events which is really good.

“I have built up a wide range of skills which will open more doors for me. I have probably learned more in the time I have been here than I did at school. You are learning real skills that you need in the work place. The biggest thing though I will take is the confidence. Having to work with groups of kids of all ages and provide coaching to kids and adults, plus dealing with the parents, has given me a lot of confidence and my people skills have also come on greatly. I have even started my own football team.

“I enjoy working on a matchday and helping with the community activities on the pitch. Working on a matchday is the highlight of the job for me. There is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes preparing for a game that I did not realise. I knew there was more to the club than the eleven players on the park but just seeing how many different areas was a shock. Every Friday before a game is manic! There is no better feeling though when things on and off the park have gone well on a Saturday and team have got another three points!”

Head of AFC in the Community Ally Prockter is delighted with how Workingrite have linked with the club, stating, “Dean has been a fantastic guy to have around, and without Workingrite’s help he would not have been here. AFC in the Community is committed to providing opportunity to others, and Dean has grabbed his chance of working at Pittodrie with both hands.Dean is now a valued member of my AFC in the Community team, and he is a shining example of someone who has benefitted from taking the chance to do something new.”

WorkingRite has supported young people into full time employment, apprenticeships or further education since 2004 and recently gained status as a Scottish Charity. Their record is impressive, consistently producing positive results – their positive placement percentage success rate is in the high seventies and in some areas (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire) even into the high eighties.

If you would like to get more information about this or other great opportunities WorkingRite provide, please contact WorkingRite directly by visit their website – www.workingrite.co.uk

WorkingRite are also on Facebook and Twitter

Ullevi Dons