Richard Yuille is named Prince’s Trust Rising Star

A former Actes client and employee has received the North East Local Enterprise Partnership Rising Star Award at The Prince’s Trust Awards in the North East, after overcoming substantial personal obstacles to gain employment.

Twenty-six-year-old Richard Yuille from Middlesbrough received the award at a special celebration on 3rd October at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead after embarking on the Prince’s Trust’s Talent Match Middlesbrough programme, delivered by Actes.

Richard had been unemployed for four years after finishing college having faced barriers to employment due to being wheelchair dependent.  He was referred to Talent Match by the Job Centre in early 2016 aged 24 where his Actes youth advocate set about providing practical support and help to rebuild his confidence and self-esteem.  A strategic plan was developed which involved capitalising on his experience in the employability sector gained through volunteering with the Job Centre.

Richard was referred onto Actes’ Level 2 One Award accredited employability qualification, Defining Futures, so that he could experience the course from a learner’s perspective before volunteering on it.  In just a few months Richard's self-confidence and experience grew and he gained great satisfaction in helping others to improve their job prospects in the same way he had been supported. 

With additional workplace experience behind him he was more prepared than ever to enter the world of work and as a result he secured a role as YEI Advocate for Actes' New Directions programme through to its completion in July, before gaining further employment with MVDA.

Richard said: “I was referred to Talent Match by the job centre and, straight away, the staff showed me they understood the challenges I was facing.  They helped me with my applications and to bring out the best of the little experience I had.

“I finally gained full-time employment at Actes and then got a role as Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) advocate for their New Directions programme.  I’ve gone on to gain further employment with MVDA in admin and my confidence has grown massively from this experience.

“I’m feeling positive about the future, and one of the most satisfying things about being employed was taking my parents out for a meal when I got my first month’s pay.”

Sandra Phillips, chief executive at Actes, said: “What Richard has achieved in such a short space of time after embarking on the Talent Match programme is remarkable. I’m delighted that Actes was able to support him through the programme and eventually to provide him with his first full-time role.  He’s a thoroughly deserving recipient of the Prince’s Trust Rising Star Award.”

Talent Match is a five-year funded project by the BIG Lottery for which the Prince’s Trust are a lead partner.