Bristol Sport Foundation Nascence Partner, Molson Group have begun working in conjunction with Bristol Bears Community Foundation on the HITZ programme. HITZ helps give young people in the Bristol area, a leg-up by improving their employability skills by working with leading organisations from a wide range of industries.
HITZ is Premiership Rugby’s award-winning education and employability programme which works with over 2,000, 14 to 18-year-olds across England every year. BBCF have been delivering the HITZ programme for two years and have worked with around 30 participants during this time.
Nationally, HITZ has so far engaged with almost 16,000 people with 70% of participants going on to achieve a positive progression into further education, training or employment and 80% reporting an improvement in personal, social and physical well-being.
HITZ uses rugby’s core values of teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship to get young people not in education, training or employment (NEET) back into education, training, apprenticeships and/or employment, and is delivered nationally by England’s 12 professional rugby clubs.
Molson Group Joint Managing Director, Robin Powell said, “We are delighted to support the HITZ programme alongside great organisations such as the Bristol Sport Foundation and Bristol Bears Community Foundation. We have been long standing supporters of their “Break the Cycle” event for many years. So, when the opportunity came to take a more direct approach in helping the young people involved in the programme, we thought we could add some real value.”
Craig Capel, Community Development Manager at Bristol Bears Community Foundation, said: “The work of Bristol Bears Community Foundation relies on our staff and volunteers building positive relationships with our participants and it was clear that the same applied to the good people we met from Molson. I’m delighted with how well the students engaged with the team. The personable, approachable and honest way in which our friends from Molson worked with young people on the HITZ programme puts us in a great place to make a positive impact with the HITZ participants in the future.”
Bristol Sport Foundation’s Corporate Partnership Manager, Paul Glanville said “We are thrilled to welcome the Molson Group as Nascence Project Partners, a growing list of purpose led employers who value the importance of getting involved and giving back to the local community.
“This is a proper local collaboration, focused around creating life changing training, employment opportunities, and enabling young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in Bristol to reach their full potential.
Our shared values around genuinely inclusive engagement and meaningful opportunity provide an incredible foundation and we look forward to seeing our special partnership go from strength to strength.”
