FOUND a job! – Drew Duffy

The Pitchcare team is delighted to announce that Drew Duffy, first to feature in our Find me a job campaign, has finally found the work placement he so desperately needed.

Back in April we revealed that time was fast running out for Drew to find a work placement in the North West of England before his college course started.

He had provisionally been accepted on to the BTEC First Diploma Sports Turf course at Myerscough College in Preston, but despite writing numerous letters to potential employers accompanied by a glowing reference from the Head Groundsman at Rochdale Football Club where he had volunteered as an assistant groundsman for 18 months, he hadn't been able to secure a position.

After featuring in our campaign and discussing his situation with other members on our message board, he persisted in contacting potential employers in the local area. Two weeks ago, he was contacted by staff at Wigan Athletic Football Club's Christopher Park Training Ground, who asked him to attend for an interview. He then received confirmation that they were offering him a two year work placement which will run alongside his course and his employment began last Friday.

If what you often read in the papers is to be believed, today's 'youth' are demotivated, unwilling to learn, even downright lazy. Drew is living proof that this stereotype is unfair. At 16, he has sat his GCSE exams and is predicted to achieve five or more at grade C or above. He's then determined to pursue a career in groundsmanship, and has worked unpaid at both Rochdale Football Club and Norden Cricket Club to gain as much experience as possible in order to boost his employment prospects. He is understandably ecstatic and relieved to have found the position he needed.

We are delighted that Wigan Athletic has been able to give this highly motivated young man the break he deserves and want to wish Drew the very best of luck in his GCSE exams and in his future career. The Pitchcare team has a feeling we'll be hearing a lot more about him in the years to come!

To boost his learning and to keep him up to date with all the latest industry developments, we'll be sending him a year's free subscription to our magazine.

We still have other individuals seeking work.

If you're unemployed and looking for work in the turf industry and would like to feature in our campaign, please contact Ellie Tait at ellie@pitchcare.com with a brief summary of your situation.