Cara Burnett

I first started off as a volunteer for Hyper Cyber Youth Project about a year ago. I first met George at the school I attended, Holy Cross in Hamilton, in the active breaks programme. 

When I left school I met up again with George at Hyper Cyber and I met a lot of young people. As time went on I started to get involved in the group and started volunteering. When I first started volunteering I took the juniors on a Wednesday and done a small programme on healthy eating. The group really enjoying making basic but fun and healthy food. 

A year has past now and in this time I have started my platinum youth achievement award. I have also completed both my basic and advanced youth work achievement awards. 

As time has gone on I changed my day in Hyper Cyber to a Tuesday and I am volunteering for the pre-seniors. The boys are brilliant and I love working with them. The recently went on their first residential and as it was my first residential as a worker it was fantastic. I love working along side George and Sarah. 

I am also on the Hyper Cyber & Larkfield Youth Project management committee. Regen:FX is also starting a youth management committee and I will be a member on that to. I recently started Forward Training, this helped me get a work placement with Wendy at Regen:FX Youth Trust as a trainee. 

In the time I have been here I have completed my First Aid and spent time getting to know a lot of keen young people who are looking to get involved in sport coaching. I am really enjoying my time here with the Regen:FX team and I look forward to keep working on my placement.

Amanda Dwyer

Hi there, my name is Amanda Roseanne Dwyer. I live with my mum in a two bedroomed house in Woodhead, Hamilton. I often stay with my boyfriend, Stewart. Well I practically live there. I am a very easy going kind of person my hobbies would preferably be listening to music and I love watching my soaps, especially Eastenders, that is just got to be the best for me. 

At the moment I am working with Regen:Fx, training as a youth worker. I am really enjoying it, but the training only lasts for about 6 months and I don't really want to stop doing this. This is what I have always wanted to do in life, work with the youths and show them there is more to life rather than hanging about the streets drinking and taking drugs. 

I am really enjoying all the activities and projects we have all ready been doing. I have had my First Aid training and got my certificate for it. We have also did our Child Protection training to show us how to deal with all the different ways that kids can be. 

I am really enjoying what I am doing at the moment with all the different training and qualifications I am achieving from this and I really hope that after my 6 months I get where I want to be, working in the youth side of things. All the training I have been doing is going on to my CV, after which, if I don't achieve what I wanted to, I will be really upset with myself.

I will have the opportunity to apply for most jobs with the qualifications and certificates I will be getting for this training, I don’t really want to think about having to find another job just yet. I would really appreciate if I could get a placement or a job doing something with Regen:Fx.

Wendy my manager, was a really good laugh wen we went on the management training residential. We had some laugh when we all hid from the kids. Me, Wendy, Joanne and Karen all hid outside in the gardens, whilst Jaymie, Dennis and Jacky all hid in the basement. We where hiding for about an hour before the kids actually knew we where away. When they finally realised, they all started saying lets have a party, all the workers are away! 

They then started to get scared, so we had to get back into the house and kid them on that we had been in our beds the full time. They didn’t believe us at all, because they had checked everywhere in the house. The full weekend was so funny. 

I do really hope I do get into something good with all this training over the coming months. I would be really sad to leave. I am enjoying youth work training very much and all the people I am working with are great. I feel as if I have knew everyone for years and I have only known them for about a month.

Barry Cathie

Hi my name is Barry Cathie, I’m a youth worker with Regen:fx Youth Trust and before I got the job I was doing volunteer work with them for a couple of years, in Fernhill Youth Project where I still currently work.

I am also involved in a football team in Fernhill. I really enjoy doing youth work, it’s a good feeling to know that you’re out in the community doing something worthwhile for young people. I wanted to get this job because I love doing youth work and felt I would be good at the job.

Before I joined Regen:fx, I was volunteering for Rutherglen Universal Connections, which I enjoyed doing. I was involved in organising outdoor trips to Hamilton Waterpalace and Radworx. During my time with Universal Connections, I worked in Fernhill and Rutherglen covering all activities in both centres.

When I first joined I was really nervous and didn’t know what to expect. I was really shy and nervous, but throughout my time doing youth work in different places I’ve worked on my confidence, people and teambuilding skills. I went on a programme called the Prince’s Trust in Rutherglen. I learned how to do team building skills and how to be confident in job interviews.

That lasted for 12 weeks and I’ve learned a lot from that and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to work on their confidence skills and to become a better person within a short time. Now working with Regen:fx, I feel more confident and I feel ready to go out into the big bad world and face the music.

Jaymie Robb

Hi all, I'm Jaymie, I'm 21, and I'm from East Kilbride. Since leaving school at 15 I’ve been in and out of courses and jobs within a very large variety of occupations. My most recent job (prior to this one) was an admin role within Scottish Power, however it was a temporary position and I left that in November 2008 to have a baby. My beautiful bouncing baby girl was born December 15th 2008 and was named Melissa – she’s my biggest achievment to date, and my pride and joy!

In May 2009 I started looking for admin roles to go back to part time...this was earlier than I had planned, however my better half had been made redundant. Months passed and before we knew it Christmas was nearly here, neither of us had a job yet and we were feeling really down about it.

At this point I decided I was going to put some use to all the free time we had between us and do some voluntary work. I knew I wanted to do some work with kids, kids that needed extra help / support. I got in touch with an organization called Covey who are also based in Blantyre and the role I was looking at was to become a befriender. 

Coming towards the end of the training I was starting to think about changing the type of jobs I had been applying to, and thinking more of changing my line of work to do something of the same sort as I was with Covey.

Just at the point of discussing my thoughts with others, the jobcentre phoned me about a payroll administrator position that had become available (I had done payroll previously for Freescale/Motorola), at this point I told them about what my thoughts were, and how I was going to change the types of work I had been applying for. They told me about 2 positions that was available within ‘youth work’. I had an idea of what youth work was and decided to give it a go.

I got the interview and was extremely nervous when I walked into the room – I’d never been interviewed by three people before let alone people as scary as Wendy, Joanne and Barry. I thought I’d blown the interview because I got a little bit emotional whilst talking about ‘why I wanted to be a youth worker’ – however its only because I feel passionate about it.

Wendy called me later in the afternoon and I was sooooo excited!  I couldn’t believe my luck!

It's been four weeks since I and the fabby wee team started, and I’ve been loving every minute. We’ve all had a shot at doing different things, and things we wouldn’t even normally try, but we’ve been doing it, and getting to meet all sorts of new people. I’m looking forward to getting based so that I can build up relationships that will last (maybe more than a week), and Im going to be the best I can be for the young people. I hope they take to me, lol.

Robert Orr

Hi I am Robert Orr I am 20 years old 21 in july my hobbies and interests keeping fit and making/playing music by myself or with friend’s, I am a big sports fanatic I love football, darts, snooker, rugby, boxing and the occasional American sport, if I can be bothered waiting up to 4 o’clock in the morning.


I am currently a youth work trainee for Regen:fx. What I am working to gain out of this new experience is new qualifications that I have never had the time or attempt to try and hopefully after the 6 months trial is up I have enjoyed my new experience that much that I would like to take it further and become a voluntary youth worker.

So far we have been learning new skills in emergency first aid, sports coaching, digital cre8or etc. My few weeks at Regen:fx has been a brilliant time getting to meet new friendly faces and getting to know all there hobbies, likes or dislikes. I cannot wait to get started putting all my skills that I have learned and discovered within myself to the test.

The staff are very easy going, easy to talk to, approachable if you have any problems or matters you’d like to discuss and are very friendly.

Sarah-Jane Rodger

Hey!! I’m Sarah-Jane, 22 from Larkhall. I love spending time with my friends and family, they really do make me who I am. Left school in 6th year and went straight into University, Studied Sport development for 4 years and left with a Degree and was unable to get a job, until now!

I began working with Regen:fx in April. I have previously been involved in youth work for many years now, but only in a voluntary role, so this is new learning experience for me.

My previous youth work involves Girls Brigade, A drama group, and being party of a youth team at a Christian camp in Edinburgh. All these volunteering opportunities I feel have given me a good standing for working with Regen;fx

As well as working for Regen:fx, I also work in a Flower shop, worked there for 8 years this October and love every minute of it. As well as the flower shop (yes that’s right I have 3 jobs!!) I also work with a company who specialise in delivering children parties for birthdays and other occasions. so I’m a pretty busy person!

So far for me working with Regen;fx has been great, only 4 weeks in and I’m loving it! The opportunities so far have been fantastic. Got a first aid certificate, child protection training, basketball training, learned lots of new ice breaker games and met new people.


As well as this I was also involved in the easter programme in Larkhall which involved an indoor skate park for In-line skates and Skateboards. Everyone had fun and some of the new staff got a shot on the equipment, Bad idea though, Very bad bruising!

I personally feel things are going well so far, the new team I am a part of work well together and help each other out when other are having difficulties. Having only been working together for 4 weeks I feel we have all bonded well and am looking forward to getting to know them and the rest of the team better as well as having fun while doing it.