Kibble’s Skills Academy further enhanced St Mirren’s first-team changing room, raising the already high standards of the club. After previously redecorating the space with the club’s iconic black and white stripes, young people were motivated to continue the development project and manufacture wooden locker areas for each player.
Young people attend Kibble’s Skills Academy to achieve qualifications and complete work experience that will ultimately help them enter the world of work. Many choose to learn skills in construction, painting and decorating and visualise themselves building a career related to the valuable trades. By attending The Skills Academy, the young apprentices have plenty of opportunities to gain practical experience in a real-life business setting. The chance to see their skills transform the space of a professional football club is extremely motivating to the young learners.
The young apprentices applied their skills to design a first-team a changing room that exceeded all expectations. As St Mirren qualified for European competition for the first time since 1987 it was agreed the players’ environment must match their professionalism. For the upgrade, each player would have their own dedicated compartment area to help prepare them for the upcoming games.
St Mirren football players spend a lot of time in the changing room pre-and-post match and research suggests a stylish, highly functional and aesthetically-pleasing changing room can help bond teams. Described as the ‘starting place’ for the game ahead, players get to the changing room early and now, being together while having their own space. There was a lot of responsibility bestowed to Kibble’s Skills Academy to design a high quality, professional changing room.
Together, students and their Skills Academy instructors took the required measurements and built wooden benches and shelves from scratch before using their joinery skills to make individual solid units that slot together to create a unified look and feel. Young people put their painting skillset to the test and decorated the units to fit in with the club’s theme of black and white stripes.
All agree the young apprentices continue to meet exceptionally high standards.
Kibble CEO, Jim Gillespie explains the project is an example of exactly why the partnership between Kibble and the club was formed: “When Kibble and St Mirren partnered, the reason was to develop our young workforce development opportunities and now, to see the results of the partnership is phenomenal.
Young people have demonstrated drive and ambition in transforming the St Mirren changing room. The students have seen the project through from beginning to end and applied their own talent and skillset add value to the Scottish Premiership team surroundings.”
St Mirren Chief Operating Officer, Keith Lasley was impressed by the skill level demonstrated by young people: “The St Mirren changing room has been completely transformed by The Skills Academy young people and their instructors. As soon as you walk in to the changing area, you know it’s belongs to St Mirren” We are extremely grateful to all young people involved.”
