HYT launches online auction for work placement experiences

An online auction offering work experience placements to people aged 16 to 24 years of age has been launched by Haileybury Youth Trust (HYT).

HYT, a small charity for whom former Prime Minister Clement Attlee once worked, alleviates poverty in Ugandan communities through training, education and environmentally friendly construction.

HYT’s Auction of Opportunity offers 43 varied and practical work experience placements for sale to the highest bidder by means of an online, interactive website at http://auction.haileyburyyouthtrust.com/

The auction was launched at HYT’s Frugal Ball, held last Saturday at Haileybury. The ball was held to raise money for another of HYT’s initiatives, "One Village at a Time", which hopes to raise £250 000 over five years. Haileyburians and Ugandans will work together in 10 villages in the Busoga region for up to six months each, transforming the lives of impoverished communities, and giving them hope and opportunity.

The first village to benefit from this partnership is Kasokaso, in southern Uganda, where a classroom has been built, together with a kitchen with energy-saving stoves and a fully equipped science lab.

"In these days of austerity and recession, work experience for young people between the ages of 16 and 24 is difficult to secure and yet is increasingly sought after as Sixth Formers, students and young graduates seek both to enhance their experience of the world of work and make themselves more attractive to universities and employers," says the co-ordinator of HYT, Russell Matcham.

"The Auction of Opportunity is a win-win situation for all: for those who bid successfully for a placement, it is a life-enriching experience. Those offering a work experience placement are helping Haileyburians and Ugandans at no cost. Most of all, thousands of impoverished Ugandans for whom HYT is offering opportunity and a brighter future will have their lives transformed."

All bids must be made by 9pm on 14 December 2010.