In 1983 two local companies got together and founded Skilltrain.  They could hardly have anticipated that, nearly 25 years later, the charity would be facing even greater demands as a result of the staggering increase in the numbers of children becoming excluded within the community; nor could they have imagined that the root cause would lie in the extreme nature of the bullying and violence these children were experiencing – often at the hands of their peers. 

Along with my fellow Trustees, I am determined to remove the barriers faced by these young people and their families.  Skilltrain exists not only to give them the necessary confidence and self esteem to meet and interact with their peers again, but also to provide emotional support and help with literacy skills so that they can return to mainstream education.

I am extremely grateful to the many Trusts and Foundations and individuals who support us financially.  I am also extremely proud of our volunteers, including Trustees and those who deliver front line support.  We cannot “bust barriers” for young people without them. Volunteers enable us to keep our administration costs to a minimum so that we can spend as much as possible on providing projects for the young people. And finally, I would like to thank our Chief Executive, Lucy Gardiner, and all the staff for their hard work, commitment and skills in coaxing these particular young people into further learning

Skilltrain’s aims and objectives are simple: to help isolated and disengaged children feel good about themselves again and achieve their potential – with your help and support we will.

Tom Carney
Chairman, Skilltrain