Trident celebrates 30th anniversary

Wednesday 03 December 2014

The Lieutenant Governor Sir John McColl will leading the Trident work experience scheme's 30th anniversary today by presenting awards to local employers who have offered the most work places over the years.

As well as the awards, each secondary school has nominated an Employer of the Year 2014 and a Student of the Year.

Deborah Midgley, Trident Manager said: “The evening will be a celebration of the valuable support that local employers are providing to young people. Employers from every industry and sector are involved with Trident and offer an opportunity for all island students to experience the world of work”.

All are welcome and the event starts at 7:15pm at the Pomme D'Or.

The scheme was launched in 1984 and at the time 180 employers signed up to offer around 800 students a three week work experience placement. The scheme has gone from strength to strength, and this year 394 employers opened their doors to around 1,000 15 year olds.

The scheme aims to enable young people, still in education, to gain experience of the work place and develop good employability skills in preparation for later life.

When the scheme was first launched in the UK it was called Project Trident because of its experimental format; like the trident of Greek mythology the scheme had three elements, work experience, a personal challenge and a period of community work.

The name changed to Trident in the early nineties however the name stuck and people still refer to it by its original name today. With the introduction and increase in participation of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme the personal challenge and community work elements were discontinued and today the Trident scheme concentrates on work experience.