We are proud to celebrate the success of Luke Anderson, who was the first young person to receive an apprenticeship courtesy of our charity in 2011.
Luke was the first of ten young people across Redcar and Cleveland to receive an apprenticeship when his circumstances unfortunately meant he couldn’t secure employment.
The apprenticeship provided Luke with the opportunity he had always wanted, and now, thirteen years on, he is thriving in full time employment as digital marketing and communications coordinator at
PD Ports who are long standing patrons of the charity.
Charity founder Andy Preston, having been involved in establishing the apprenticeship scheme back in 2011, recently visited Luke, keen to see the strides he had made since.
When speaking with Luke about what the apprenticeship meant to him, he said: “Being one of The Teesside Charity’s first apprentices is something that I am hugely grateful for. At the time I struggled to find full time work and experience to help me progress into a suitable career. My apprenticeship gave me a focus and enabled me to gain job specific skills and transferable skills that I still use to this day.
“I’ve since been to university to study commercial photography and gained employment shortly after graduating with a local vintage clothing company being responsible for their marketing and content creation. Unfortunately, last year the company closed its doors which led me to my current position of digital marketing and communications coordinator at PD Ports who coincidentally are a patron of The Teesside Charity. This new role has given me perspective along with my personal experience on how organisations like The Teesside Charity can make a massive difference in the community with the help of their patrons and other contributors.”
We are proud to have been part of Luke’s journey and are delighted to witness how our apprenticeship program has supported him to reach his goals.
