HITZ students put to the test by Royal Navy

Earlier this month Northampton students involved in Premiership Rugby’s award-winning HITZ programme teamed up with the Royal Navy to help boost their personal development and employability skills.

The HITZ programme was introduced at Saints in 2012. HITZ uses rugby’s core values of teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship to help young people not in education, training or employment to turn their fortunes around.

The Royal Navy are hoping to progress the leadership, team management, and organisational skill sets of Northampton Saints' students, showing how those abilities are easily transferred and useful within their day-to-day working lives.

The sessions have included a mixture of classroom-based logistical activities and fitness workouts, while different roles available within the Navy have also been showcased should any of the learners be interested in enrolling.

“We’re really excited about this new relationship with the Royal Navy that began earlier this month,” said Jordan Letts, social inclusion manager at Northampton Saints Foundation.

“So far it’s been really fun but also a completely different style of challenge for our students. They all have so much potential, and at the Foundation we are constantly trying to find diverse ways to unlock it.

“The students have been working on their teamwork skills and leadership skills – abilities that can be instantly transferred into the workplace. It’s also helped boost their confidence and bring the whole group closer together.

“Students within the HITZ programme regularly report an increase in resilience, self-confidence and aspiration – with more than 70 per cent going on to further education, training or employment. We want to improve that success rate even more, and hopefully this work alongside the Navy can help with that aim.”