Barclays Empowering Young People On And Off The Rugby Field

Barclays hosted the annual HITZ Awards ceremony in 1 Churchill Place, celebrating the achievements of young people who have been through the HITZ programme.

The multi-award winning programme uses rugby to engage young people, helping to increase their resilience, self-reliance and confidence, and gives them the skills to get back into education, secure an apprenticeship and employment. Barclays employees help to deliver financial skills, CV and interview workshops.

"Barclays came in to help us with money skills. I’ve gained interview skills and learnt how to be a part of the team"- Joe Melfah, HITZ graduate

Joe Melfah, one of the HITZ graduates, admits that without the support of the programme he faced a bleak future, but having overcome many challenges, he is the worthy recipient of the HITZ 2016 Young Achiever Award. The award was presented by Danielle Waterman, England Women’s Rugby World Cup winner and Gavin Isle, Barclays senior sponsor of the HITZ programme and Co-Head of UK Corporate Banking.

Released from a young offender institution three years ago with no qualifications, Joe has turned his life around. Joe joined the HITZ programme at Worcester Warriors and through the skills he’s learnt through HITZ he has gained GCSEs, secured employment and recently started an engineering apprenticeship. He has also been able to manage his once aggressive temperament to become a mentor on the programme and support other young people.

Joe said: “Without HITZ I don’t know where I would be. I didn’t know what to do when I came out, I didn’t know I had a career ahead of me, but I do now. Barclays came in to help us with money skills. I’ve gained interview skills and learnt how to be a part of the team.”

"Programmes like HITZ play a vital role in supporting our young people" - Danielle Waterman, England Women’s Rugby World Cup winner

Danielle Waterman, England Women’s Rugby World Cup winner said: “Programmes like HITZ play a vital role in supporting our young people. By harnessing the power of sport we can make a real difference in their lives and it’s testimony to Barclays’ focus on the next generation that it both delivers and supports such programmes.”

Joe is just one of the thousands of young people Barclays is helping to achieve their potential.

HITZ is run in partnership with Premiership rugby, Barclays, Comic Relief, Land Rover and Wooden Spoon.

Read more about the HITZ partnershipRead more about the HITZ partnership