I am so glad that I decided to apply, it has been such an amazing experience. I have had the opportunity to gain so many new experiences. Going into the schools to deliver the UBUNTU project which is a good relations project Belfast YMCA deliver in local schools which cover diversity, discrimination, the history of Northern Ireland and flags. This was something that was very new to me. It was extremely scary to begin with and even though it was always something that caused me to be slightly nervous, it is the piece of work that I am most thankful for out of everything we did during the apprenticeship. It allowed me to be pushed out of my comfort zone and helped me develop as a person.

I applied for this role because I had just finished my University degree in Theology and knew that I wanted to gain a little more experience in youth work before I went into full time work. I was searching for something to do in my year after Uni, and at the NUA festival I bumped into last year's connected apprentice, Ellie. She had told me that it was such a good experience to step out of my comfort zone, to grow in skills and confidence in different youth work settings and the chance to grow spiritually. One week later, I had applied to the apprenticeship, had visited the Belfast YMCA building and immediately felt at home.

Unify Conference - Budapest

Andy Campbell our Connected Youth Apprentice shares his reflections on the past year.

When I applied for this apprenticeship I was really stepping out of my comfort zone and I knew that this would be an amazing but very new experience for me. I was correct, although the extent of opportunities, growth and support from everyone I worked with this year has exceeded all of my expectations.

Breaking barriers has been an online dialogue project for young people from Belfast YMCA, West Cork YMCA and the YMCA of East Jerusalem.

Hi. I’m Andy Campbell and I am on the Connected Youth Apprentice programme at Belfast YMCA this year.

Hi, I’m Nyncke Kuperus and I am a student in Global Project and Change Management at Windesheim University in the Netherlands.

Clare Hutchinson writes about the first year of the Community Garden

Belfast YMCA junior parkrun