2nd Ahoghill Company Section officers Ryan Young and Thomas Clarke completed their Youth Leader Training after attending a residential training course.
The training took place over three days, during which leaders from various companies stayed in former BBNI Regional Headquarters at Rathmore House, Larne.
After the leaders had settled into their dorm rooms, Friday night’s schedule began with a series of introductory talks by the course instructors, including a presentation about the Boys’ Brigade’s involvement in the wider voluntary youth movement. After a brief stop for supper, the night’s training concluded with a basic drill class.
Saturday
Saturday’s training began after breakfast, with an overview of the Discover and Challenge Plus award schemes, and continued with a discussion on how to build relationships with young people. After this the instructors demonstrated some games that could be incorporated as part of a P.E. routine, before we stopped for lunch.
The training continued as we talked about working effectively with young people, and discussed how we could extend the Company Section programme. This involved the leaders sharing their ideas for trips and activities with the rest of the group.
After dinner, we had the first of two talks about child protection and safety issues. This was followed by instructions on how to plan and deliver as P.E. routine. Saturday’s training ended as we learned how to incorporate the Discover and Challenge Plus programmes into our company’s nightly schedule.
Sunday
After breakfast on Sunday, we joined together for morning worship; which was followed by a talk on faith development. The afternoon’s training began with the second of our child protection and safety issues talks, and finished with a look at equal opportunities within the Boys’ Brigade. The weekend came to a close with a final address from the instructors, suggesting how we should move forward having received our training.
Having completed their Youth Leader Training, Ryan and Tommy are now eligible for promotion to the rank of Lieutenant.