PCC revs up Youth Motor Project with financial grant

On Friday 15 September, Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Barber, visited Aylesbury Youth Motor Project to find out how £10,000 of funding awarded from the PCC’s Community Fund has benefitted the organisation.

Aylesbury Youth Motor Project (AYMP) is a charity that provides vocational training to young people aged between 12-16 years with a focus on the less advantaged, those at risk and youth offenders. They work with between 40-60 students per term most of whom are not engaged with traditional education and have been referred by local schools and colleges, Special Educational Needs settings, local authorities or PCSOs, to help them achieve an Institute of the Motor Industry approved qualification.

AYMP is a traditional garage with commercial services available to the public including repairs, servicing, MOTs and tyre replacement so students work on real cars troubleshooting and repairing genuine problems. This means students gain practical skills and real-world experience with customers in addition to an educational qualification. Students learn at their own pace with 75% of the courses being workshop learning with the other 25% classroom-based, all of which is taught on site by qualified instructors. AYMP offers four entry-level courses providing students with the tools and confidence to then move on to other educational opportunities or secure a work placement within the motor industry.

AYMP used the grant recently awarded from the PCC to purchase new materials for their workshop including a wheel balancer, tyre machine and pressure tester, smoke machine for leaks in turbos and new vehicle ramp all of which have enhanced the students’ learning experience.

Following his visit, Matthew said: “It was a pleasure to meet Rob and the AYMP team and learn more about their inspiring work with young people. We know traditional classroom education does not suit all young people, so it is important that alternative options like AYMP exist to give young people another route and keep them from falling into crime. It was also great to hear that AYMP has a strong relationship with their local PCSO’s as this will help to build young people’s trust and confidence in the police.

I’m delighted to have been able to support the work of AYMP with a £10,000 grant from my Community Fund and I wish Rob and the team all the best with their future work.”

Rob Shirley, Project Manager at Aylesbury Youth Motor Project, said: “I would like to thank Matthew for the very generous donation of £10,000 from the PCC’s Community Fund which has allowed us to purchase new equipment for the workshop and enabled us to offer up to date training on material that is relevant within the industry today.

It was my pleasure to have Matthew visit with us and meet the students. We were able to show him exactly how the monies benefitted us as a Charity and what a difference it will make to our students, allowing them to gain experience using up to date equipment which in turn will give them good steed going forward. Thank you again for your generosity and support.”