NCS The Challenge Review

My role was working as a team member to develop my personal and relationship skills as well as planning and promoting charity fundraising work. On a day to day basis this involved working with the local community, interviewing the public to gauge attitudes and meeting with local businesses to request donations for charity gift boxes. Much of the work involved presentations and greatly improved self confidence. Working with charities required a great deal of compassion and in some cases strict confidentiality.

The skills I have developed are mainly concerned with self promotion and building confidence. In addition to this I have also learned to interact with people from all walks of life and I have a greater understanding of social problems and the causes of these issues. I have further developed my planning and organisational skills by completing these tasks.

I did enjoy some parts of the programme however some elements such as the team physical challenges were very demanding as I am not really into fitness. One activity involved climbing Snowdonia which was completed with poor food supplies and no access to fresh water which was an horrendous experience. The overall organisation of the programme was very poor and this impacted on the young people as food and water was limited and accommodation was in some cases unclean and dangerous.

Because of the poor treatment we recieved due to lack of management organisation I did not feel valued, we all felt quite angry. At a local level the team leaders were very good and tried to support us but they also were dealing with limited food, lack of water, poor and dangerous accommodation and appalling management skills above them. The idea of the programme is good and in some cases I did feel part of the team but the circumstances meant to was very difficult to excel in such poor conditions.

The programme looked good on paper but was poorly structured on a day to day basis. Each day involved lots of waiting around for instruction, poor discipline of some of the other young people, a general lack of engagement and again organisation of basic things such as access to food, water and accommodation was shocking. The programme could have been so good but the failings at the top created massive issues each day.

At a local level there were a couple of team leaders that gave me excellent support and advice but in general the level of support I recieved was shocking. NCS claim they are an inclusive organisation but this is far from the truth. They were made aware of my anxiety issues prior to be starting the course and we were reassured this wouldn't be a problem. In reality I was left unattended on a mountain walk in the middle of an anxiety attack, the leader claimed he didn't know I had anxiety, didn't seemed to believe me and walked off and left me on my own and in a dangerous situation. I nearly couldn't find the group again which made me really ill.

As above NCS provided little support (although this wasn't employment). There was a very much we don't care just get on with it attitude at management level. Locally some of the team leaders were good but they were having to deal with multiple issues from other youngsters so providing support to others was virtually impossible. When I made a complaint about my dangerous accommodation and moulding bathroom I was initially ignored and told to get on with it, I ended up in tears and then they actually started to listen but again told me there was nothing they could do.

There isn't a salary or package involved with this course, in fact we had to pay £50 to attend. It pains my parents that they had to pay to put me through weeks of hell, with basic necessities should as food, clean water and emotion support denied.

There are post NCS opportunities such as volunteering placements and guaranteed interviews with employers but I would not take these up as I know how disorganised the programme was and I have no faith in anything else NCS provide. I do feel that because of the bad experience I have had, I have become stronger and I did enjoy the charity work I was involved in. I may take this further but I will initiate it myself rather than using NCS.

No

NCS is completely disorganised with Senior Managers who really don't care. On the programme you are just a number. It's a poor reflection when an organisation tasked with developing young people are unable to provide the basics such as food, clean water, safe accommodation and support for those with additional needs. The programme could of been an inspirational and positive experience for young people, instead it was an horrific mess.

I really would advise not applying. The failings I experienced should of never been allowed to happen. NCS have put young people into a dangerous situation and have neglected the needs of young vulnerable people. I would advise young people to find some volunteering opportunities themselves which will help them to develop good skills in team work, compassion and planning.