Brush up your Urban Cycle Skills

York residents of all ages and levels of ability are being invited to brush up their cycling skills by booking a subsidised training session from as little as £5 for 90 minutes.

Urban Cycle Skills is a programme of bespoke cycling tuition suitable for everyone from experienced cyclists to those who haven’t ridden a bike for more than 30 years.

Tailored to the level of ability and requirements of the individuals taking part in each session, the cycling tuition is provided by instructors trained to a nationally-recognised standard.

Urban Cycle Skills sessions typically cost £32.00 for 60 minutes or £48.00 for 90 minutes, but City of York Council is offering them at the subsidised rate of just £5 for a 90-minute, one-to-one session for a single adult. Family sessions are available from £5 for an adult and up to two children (aged eight years and above), or £10 for two adults and two children (aged eight years and above).

For more information or to book a place, visit www.itravelyork.info/cycling/cycle-training.

Apprenticeship and training event in York on Thursday

City of York Council will be hosting the York Apprenticeship & Training event at West Offices on Thursday 31 August, 4-7pm.

This event will show young people what their options are for their next steps following the recent publication of A-Level and GCSE exam results.

Hundreds of apprenticeship vacancies throughout York will be on offer along with training and employment opportunities in business, finance, marketing, hospitality, engineering, construction, childcare and many other areas.

Employers confirmed include Nestlé, NFU Mutual, City of York Council, Network Rail, Gear 4 Music, Persimmon Homes and the Royal Air Force. There will also be a special spotlight on careers in the hospitality sector, with The Principal Hotel doing mocktail demonstrations, Marriott York making and serving canapés and Betty’s, Park Inn and Hilton Hotel available to talk to.

Councillor Keith Aspden, deputy leader of the council and responsible for economic development and York Skills Plan said, “This ever-popular event offers the chance for young people and their parents to meet recruiting employers, and gain support and advice on apprenticeship vacancies as they look to start their career.

“Young people are increasingly recognising that an apprenticeship has a great deal to offer in helping to build a successful career and can be of great benefit to businesses as well.

“We are happy to support young people and businesses with such events and as a council we are committed to helping businesses to create apprenticeship jobs and take on young talent to support their business grow.

I hope many young people take the opportunity to visit.”

More than 500 young people attended the York Apprenticeship Recruitment event in March.

As well as employers, young people will also be able to talk with apprenticeship training providers, current apprentices, local universities and support services offering 1 to 1 careers information, advice and guidance. Anyone attending is encouraged to bring a copy of their CV to distribute to potential employers.

The event takes place between 4pm and 7pm and is open to people aged between 16 and 24, along with their parents.

For more information on the event, contact the City of York Council-led York Apprenticeship Hub by emailing york.apprenticeships@york.gov.uk, phoning 01904 553732 or searching for the York Apprenticeships page on Facebook.

Robots help York children learn to code

keep-calm-and-go-digitalCity of York Council is continuing work to get more people in the city learning how to code, by hosting a special event in partnership with Children’s University at West Offices on Tuesday 14 June.

The event, which is part of this year’s Festival of Ideas, will run between 6pm and 7pm see children look at and work with a variety of robots as they learn code and robotics at a fun family workshop.

The workshop is the latest coding event in the city following successful events at York Explore Library Learning Centre and the National Railway Museum and more as part of an exciting Code York programme to help people across York learn to code.

During the fun session children will be meeting and viewing many different types of robots that will be on show from the University of York’s Robotics Lab including a humanoid robot named NAO who will be demonstrating its abilities with football, dancing and speech; a scorpion robot, a Rubik’s cube solving robot and much more. In addition there will also be a competition with an exciting family prize.

The event is for anyone aged 7-14 years old that has an interest in coding and children are being urged to book their place at the free event now at www.yorkchildrensuniversity.eventbrite.co.uk to avoid disappointment as places are going fast.

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What’s on in York: Balance bike sessions for tots

riding-clipart-kids-riding-bikes-clipart-25232Young children in York can get into gear at special balance bike sessions for tots at the traffic free York Sport Village.

The City of York Council hosted sessions are aimed at three to five year olds and are run by nationally qualified Bikeability instructors.

The 45 minute sessions are specifically designed to prepare children aged three – five years with the balance and co-ordination skills required to progress to a pedal bicycle.  By learning through games and activities the sessions provide youngsters with a positive early experience of being on two wheels which can help the transition to pedal bike without a need for stabilisers.
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