Dave McNichol is chief executive of Warrington Youth Club and writes a regular column for the Warrington Guardian

How many times do you hear people in your workplace say, ‘I can’t speak in public’ or ‘I hate delivering presentations’. We support children and young people to push their boundaries every single day, that may be climbing to the top of a climbing wall, entering the boxing ring, or performing in a pantomime.

When young people start the first role in employment, they often need to navigate the ‘unwritten expectations’ of how to act and behave in the workplace. The subtleties of how to act and react to new colleagues and how to modify your behaviour in a work setting in comparison to a social context.

These are often referred to as ‘Soft Skills’, this term really underrates the importance of understanding some of these nuances which can allow for a seamless transition into the world of work. We believe they are the foundation skills which everyone needs, whilst our employability team will support young people with compiling a Curriculum Vitae, writing a job or college application, or preparing a presentation to form part of a selection process. Our focus is on supporting young people with preparing emotionally and socially to take that step into the workplace.

In September we hosted two national conferences at Warrington Youth Zone for the OnSide network of Youth Zone and welcomed more than 600 people to the building over three days. During the conference one of the members of Warrington Youth Zone who is 15 years old took to the stage to facilitate an event designed to educate and inform over 200 youth and community workers from across the country. Caitlin spoke with confidence and eloquence as she welcomed the delegates to her Youth Zone, and both introduced and thanked the keynote speakers as they delivered their presentations.

She did a phenomenal job and the confidence, skills, and knowledge she learned from this experience will serve her well in her future career.

At Warrington Youth Zone we use every opportunity possible to encourage children and young people to push themselves out of their comfort zone to exceed their perceived boundaries and build their self-confidence and self-esteem.

If you would like more information about Warrington Youth Zone or you are able to provide support in some way to assist children and young people through volunteering, fundraising or promoting the charity please contact us info@wyz.org.uk or call 01925-997271.