Warriors HITZ learner Joe Melfah has been crowned winner of the Young Achiever award at the annual HITZ awards.
Joe admitted that without the support of the HITZ programme, he was facing a bleak future – but after getting his life back on track, he is a very worthy recipient of the Young Achiever Award supported by Barclays.
Joe, who was put forward by Warriors, scooped the prize at the HITZ Awards ceremony, after an extraordinary U-turn from where he was when he first started the programme.
He was released from a young offenders institute with no qualifications but, after changing his attitude, gained the GCSEs required to apply for an apprenticeship and will soon begin working towards becoming a fully qualified engineer.
The HITZ Young Achiever Award recognises and rewards the young person who, by overcoming a range of challenges, has worked the hardest to progress on their journey back to education, training or employment.
Joe said: “Without HITZ I don’t know where I would be, I think I’d be back in the Institute.
“I didn’t know what to do when I came out, I didn’t know I had a career ahead of me, but now I do. Rugby motivated me, because I love rugby.
“Barclays came in to help us with money skills, they did maths problems and things like that. I’ve gained interview skills and I’ve learnt how to be part of a team.
“I wasn’t motivated to do anything and now I am, to go and apply for new jobs and do extended learning.
“I needed to get my GCSEs to actually apply. Now I’ve got them, so I can apply for any apprenticeship I want to. Coming from where I did to where I am now has made me think I can actually do what I want to in life and if I focus on something I can get there.”
Worcester Warriors HITZ Officer Stuart Brooks said, “Joe has proved a special individual after blossoming in the programme.
“Joe is a bit different from many learners I’ve worked with previously.
“With his background, he was a bit unsure about the environment he was coming into. But he has come in and it opened up straight away. He knew he needed a change and he knew where he wanted to go.
“He has taken himself out of his environment where he was causing trouble, and employers can now look at Joe and see he is a responsible young man. He knows he has made mistakes and he can change and he can offer something back to the community that he is in.”
Joe is now working full-time and sees that opportunities are out there if you pursue your dream, instead of violence.
The multi award-winning HITZ programme uses rugby to increase young people's resilience, self-reliance and confidence and gives them the skills to get back into education, apprenticeships and employment. HITZ is run in partnership with Barclays, Comic Relief, Land Rover and Wooden Spoon.
The annual HITZ Awards recognise some of the most inspiring young people in England. The HITZ programme delivered nationally by Premiership Rugby and funded by national partners Barclays, Comic Relief, Land Rover and Wooden Spoon tackles some of the greatest challenges facing young people today – unemployment, crime and disillusionment. See hitzrugby.com