What do we do
Our award winning sail training voyages let young people discover their true potential through the experience of sail training
Ocean Youth Trust Scotland is a world leading youth work charity, delivering an annual programme of residential youthwork voyages aboard its fleet of sail training vessels. We sail with young people from a wide range of backgrounds throughout Scotland and beyond from 12 to 25 years of age. In most cases these young people will have no previous sailing experience.
Vision
We believe that all young people, regardless of circumstance or ability should have the opportunity to realise their true potential in order for them to live healthy, fulfilling lives – making a positive contribution to their community and to society in general.
Mission
We exist to inspire young people through the challenge of adventure under sail. Residential voyages aboard our fleet of sail training vessels provide a uniquely powerful and extremely effective environment for the personal development of young people from a diverse range of backgrounds.
Our Voyages
Our voyages are inherently safe, however the unpredictable nature of sail training presents real and honest physical, mental and emotional challenges. It is a genuinely life changing experience with many unique learning experiences.
We operate three sailing ships, and take around 1,000 young people to sea each year. Our sail training voyages provide the opportunity for self-development through the experience of adventure under sail.
Through this shared challenge and adventure of life at sea, OYT Scotland aims to empower young people to discover their true potential by:
- Building Self Confidence
- Respect for themselves and others
- Experiencing the need for teamwork and mutual trust
- Developing problem solving and leadership skills
- Taking responsibility for their own actions and decisions
- Developing social and life skills
- Experience of healthy living
- Understanding the needs and backgrounds of others
- A sense of community and active citizenship
- Developing a sense of equality and fairness
- Promoting an awareness and respect for the environment
- Promoting the importance of lifelong learning
- Improved literacy and numeracy
- A range of nationally recognised qualifications:
- Learning a range of sailing and navigation skills
We develop four capacities in the young people we work with. We help them to achieve increased:
- Self-confidence
- Responsibility and respect
- The ability to learn from experience
- The ability to work with others
As well as our core outcomes, we place an emphasis on four practical outcomes:
- The improved understanding of literacy, numeracy, communication & technology.
- The improved ability to learn from experience and plan for the future.
- The improved ability to maintain a happy, healthy and balanced lifestyle.
- The ability to maintain a working routine, take responsibility and adapt to change.
Through a combination of shore-based preparation, planning and a residential water based voyage, we help young people recognise the benefits of change. Whether this change is a natural part of their progression to adulthood or a desire to improve their surroundings and prospects, all participants find new skills and strengths.
The Trust is committed to providing opportunities for young people regardless of circumstance or ability. Approximately half of the young people sailing with the Trust receive some form of financial assistance with their berth fees.
OYT Scotland is unique in being the only national, voluntary youth work organisation of its kind in Scotland. Around 140 volunteers contribute over 48,000 hours of voluntary work annually towards the objectives of the Trust.
OYT Scotland has developed a very strong training and development culture and as a result the principal of lifelong learning is deeply entrenched. The Trust is a recognised RYA (Royal Yachting Association) Teaching Establishment with an excellent reputation and an award winning, world class training programme providing its volunteers and staff with a unique set of hard and soft skills to meet the demands required to deliver high quality youth work at sea.