Yachts & Yachting — February 2018

ALL PHOTOS C/O UKSA

A GOOD CAUSE

As the New Year begins, more young people are taking steps

towards a life on the water thanks to youth charity UKSA,

Y&Y’s chosen Charity of the Year for 2018

B

ased in Cowes, the heart

of yachting, UKSA is the

largest maritime training

school in the world,

delivering more RYA and

MCA courses than anywhere else.

Having trained 150,000 people in their 30

years of operation, the Academy is now

launching new charitable programmes to

benet the next generation of students.

Walking around UKSA, it isn’t obvious

that a third of the ten thousand students

who come through the Academy each

year are doing so as part of a funded

programme. Dee Caari MBE is one

of UKSA’s Ambassadors and can back

this up from personal experience:

“When I trained at UKSA, I didn’t

know who was funded through a

charitable programme and who was

fee-paying. It’s a level playing eld.”

Ben Willows, UKSA’s CEO, explains

why the charitable work is so important.

“We know that nationwide, the wellbeing

of young people is at its lowest level in

nearly a decade. More young people

are struggling to cope at school or

work, suering from a lack of self-

condence and because of that, many

don’t believe that they can change

their circumstances. We can help to

turn some of those lives around.”

UKSA directly addresses this in two

ways. First, they deliver programmes

focussed on improving key life

skills for young people, including

condence, coping, communication

and teamwork. Second, they work with

employers to train young people to the

Above

UKSA has trained

150,000 people

in 30 years of

operation

72 Yachts & Yachting February 2018 yachtsandyachting.co.uk

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