Participants are mentored by professional tradespeople and can gain vocational accreditations as well as access to further training, work placement and apprenticeship opportunities.
The majority of young people who take part and benefit are disengaged or excluded from mainstream education and training, at risk of disengagement, and/or unemployed.
Channel 4 presenter Guy Martin and a camera crew recently visited four VIY project sites and the resulting four short films are now live on All 4/Channel 4 online - well worth a watch!
Guy is keen to encourage more young people to learn vocational trade skills and wanted to meet, and work alongside, young people doing just that at VIY projects across the country.
"I met great lads and lasses volunteering on all four projects. Their enthusiasm was a brilliant reflection of what the VIY scheme is all about. They all just just wanted to get on with it." - Guy Martin
Watch now
As a complete novice, Kayleigh, from Hackney, took part in skills sessions at VIY’s north London Hub project, on the Northumberland Park Estate in Haringey, in 2015. Through her participation she achieved City & Guilds Entry Level 3 accreditations in carpentry and plumbing, and her VIY experience inspired her to start a construction skills course…
