Young person shines in FLARE programme
A 17-year-old from Henley-in-Arden has been recognised as a ‘best achiever’ on Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Youth Development programme, FLARE.
Kyle Smith was one of a number of students to recently take part in the 16-day interactive course by Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Services Youth Development Team, which invites 14 to 17-year-old students in need of a work-based training to take part in a range of team building activities.
FLARE encourages young people to develop a sense of pride and diligence in their approach to work and encourages participants to accept responsibility for themselves and their actions.
All of the activities are based on fire training principles including hose and hydrant drills, breathing apparatus and search and rescue training, fire safety awareness, extinguisher training, first aid certification and driver training.
At the end of every course, staff offer the Best Achiever Award to someone who displays excellent attendance and punctuality, commits themselves equally to practical and workshop sessions, showing enthusiasm for both and contributing with equal vigour across the board.
Moreno Francioso, Youth Development Manager for Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service, explained why Kyle was selected to receive the award: “We look for someone who has faced every challenge to the best of their abilities, showed determination, courage and motivation to succeed, and has to have learnt from their own experiences.
“They have to be a good team player, supportive, demonstrate good self-discipline, positive communication, improved organisational skills and have achieved the biggest improvement over the 8-week course.
“Although there were a number of very strong candidates, we felt Kyle had come such a long way since the beginning.”
Kyle said: “I was introduced to the course by staff at the Hub @ Henley as I was looking for training to improve my qualifications and job prospects.
“FLARE really appealed to me because it had everything I was looking for and also gave me an insight in to the work of firefighters, which seems like a really exciting career.”
To find out more about Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service or FLARE, visit http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/fireandrescue.
For more information regarding Warwickshire County Council’s Youth and Community Service, visit http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/youthandcommunity.