By IW Observer.co.uk
UKSA has been awarded a maritime grant, worth over £600,000 over three years, from the TK Foundation.
The funding will allow UKSA to welcome 77 teenagers onto its Sea.Change Foundation programme, a week-long residential course each year, and allow purchasing of new keel boats.
The grant will also increase the percentage of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds who can access UKSA’s superyacht cadetship. In 2021, only 16 per cent of the cadet intake were from the most deprived areas of the UK.
Students from vulnerable backgrounds can require additional help, and the grant will fund an extra member of staff to support them.
Amy Sweeting, of UKSA, said: “Children and young people are the most acutely affected group as a result of the pandemic, with a multitude of factors playing a part. Increased financial and emotional strain, lack of peer interaction and reduced outdoor time have all had an overwhelming impact on young people’s mental health.
“Children and young people who were deemed vulnerable before the crisis have been especially affected and we must do all we can to aid their recovery and provide the best opportunity of a future for them. Investments into clear pathways into employment have never been so important and the maritime sector provides access to long-term career paths.”
Press Release