HRH The Earl of Wessex joined over 100 school pupils from across Birmingham to celebrate their involvement in a road worker safety project run by Amey in conjunction with Birmingham City Council.
The young people gave up their time to take part in Project RADAR (Raising Awareness of Dangers to Amey Road workers), a 13-week bespoke programme to learn about and design a campaign to raise awareness of the hazards road workers face every day. The programme contributes towards the pupils' Bronze DofE Award, which requires them to volunteer towards a cause or campaign. The team that develops the best campaign will see it rolled out by Amey as part of their local road worker safety drive.
Developed by Amey’s highways team in Birmingham, the project was designed in response to a marked increase in violence and abuse towards road workers in the city. Road workers regularly face verbal abuse and threats as well as incidences of motorists forcibly and aggressively driving through road closures, putting their own and other people’s safety at risk.
Trustee of the DofE Charity, HRH The Earl of Wessex, spent time speaking to the pupils who took part in the initiative and announced the winning team - from Bordesley Green Girl's School. Following Project RADAR’s success, it is hoped similar volunteering programmes will be developed for other local communities Amey works in nationally to tackle similar issues.
The unique project was launched as part of the Amey’s 14-year national partnership with the DofE Charity, a collaboration which will contribute to helping 400,000 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds take part in their DofE over the next five years, thereby improving the life chances and employability of young people across the UK.
Keith Bennett, Sector Director responsible for Amey’s Highways service in Birmingham, said: “We are very proud of our local partnership with the DofE, witnessing first-hand the benefits to our own apprentices doing their DofE awards, and are pleased to be supporting this volunteering initiative. We are looking forward to working with the competition winners to highlight the risks faced by our employees out on the Birmingham roads network.”
Independent research commissioned by the DofE Charity has shown that 84% of young people who achieved their DofE Award developed enhanced organisational skills and 62% felt that the DofE helped them to make a positive difference to their local community.
Phil Brown, Regional Director of the DofE in Central England, said: “I am delighted that so many young people are taking part in this valuable project in Birmingham. The DofE helps prepare young people for the world of work and this project is giving young people a great opportunity to develop their critical thinking and communication skills, whilst understanding the issues faced by Amey staff on a daily basis.”
To find out more about the DofE go to www.DofE.org