The Journey Programme
What is the Journey Programme?
The Journey Programme comprises of four free, outdoor-based, personal development programmes for young people aged 16-30. It is for anyone who is facing challenges in their life and would like the support to improve their mental, physical and emotional well-being. The programme is up to a year long and requires a minimum 2-day commitment each week.
What will I do on the Journey Programme?
During each of our programmes, young people take part in challenging and fun outdoor sessions that include activities such as:
hill walking
Orienteering
Rock climbing
canoeing
gorge walking
weaseling
Coasteering
Team Building
Stand up Paddling
Alongside the activity days, young people will also spend time in local green spaces in local communities making an environmental impact such as tree-planting or litter picking. Beyond the outdoor activities, young people will also spend time exploring important psychological theories that help us understand and experience the world. We aim to spend as much time in the fresh air as possible, however, occasionally Scotland’s weather gets in the way!
How will the Programme help me?
Everything we do at Venture Scotland is about personal development. Each of our four programmes are designed to help build specific skills such as confidence, managing positive relationships and communication. We also provide 1-to-1 support as we all know, change can be hard! A young person who attends the programme can expect to build skills such as:
- Confidence
- Communication
- Trust
- Teambuilding
- Leadership
- Planning skills
- Positive relationships
- Community awareness
- Experiential learning
As well as these skills, we will support young people to set and meet their own individual goals
Why does the Programme Work?
Staff
A small team of dedicated staff members who really care.
Volunteers
Trained volunteers from a variety of backgrounds who are able to bring a range of unique skill sets and life experiences to the table.
Trust
You can build trusting, caring relationships with staff, volunteers and your peers in an environment where we set consistent and safe boundaries.
Time
Lots and lots of time. Young people who complete all four programmes spend a minimum of 724 hours in contact with staff and volunteers.
Outdoors
Where all the good stuff happens. Proven by researchers to be a great environment to improve mental health, physical health, well-being and learn new skills.
To learn more about The Journey, check out the following stages Challenge, Discover, Explore, Leadership, and the Ambassador programme.
FAQs
The programme is for anyone between the ages of 16-30 who is struggling and looking for the support to make some positive changes in their lives. It’s ideal for anyone who would like to improve their mental, physical and emotional wellbeing.
The Journey Programme is all about personal development, so what you get out depends on how much you put in. Each of our progressive programmes is designed to help develop certain skills. We all have skills that are continually growing, so whether you’d like to improve your ability to communicate, be part of a team, trust others, be a team player or a leader, you can work on developing all of those and more during the programme.
We also offer the opportunity to get some qualifications, such as a John Muir Award, Canoe Association awards, and SQA qualifications up to a level 4.
You don’t need anything except for comfortable clothes that you’re able to move in. We’ll provide the rest including full outdoor kit and special equipment.
You need no previous skills or outdoors experience to participate in the programme. We will provide all instructions and support on the activities. You don’t need to be ‘fit’ to participate in our activities, but they can be physically demanding, so you should be up for a challenge!
Being nervous on the first day of the programme is completely normal – even staff and volunteers get nervous for the first day! Just know you’re not alone and have staff to support you throughout the programme, from before your first day, through the end of your journey with us.
Each group is normally between 8-12 young people. A great part of the programme is how diverse it is! Young people from all different backgrounds and walks of life sign up. If you join, you can expect to meet a diverse group of people who are all working together in a respectful environment to develop themselves.
The programme offers the most if you attend it from day 1 all the way to the last day of leadership. Sometimes, though, the full programme isn’t right for everyone, or people have commitments that pop up during the programme. We support you to do as much as is right for you.