“MOL Education is the best thing I’ve ever done in my life…” – Amelia
Ministry of Life (MOL) Education is an organisation based in Cardiff that provides an alternative route to education for young people aged between 16 to 25 who are at risk of becoming, or are already not, in education or employment.
The Splott-based organisation received a National Lottery grant of over £400,000 to offer music and multimedia courses that help young people develop skills such as rapping and recording, as well improving their confidence and self-esteem.
In March, MOL Education held a launch event for their brand-new music studio, The Container. Housed in an old shipping container, The Container offers state-of-the-art recording facilities for students to develop and record their own music. We went along to the launch event to find out more about the project from the students and staff…
Students at MOL Education take either the level 1 or 2 BTEC award in Music and Video Production, and work holistically on their qualifications, as Adrian, a teacher at MOL, describes:
“A typical day at MOL: in the morning we’ve got warm up activities for the young people; they’ll focus on how to improve their instrument skills for example. The morning class will be full of engagement – they’ll actually get one of the modules down from the BTEC they’re studying. Then, come the afternoon, we’ve got all the facilities open to them, so you can go into the studio, The Container, or to the live room.”
Alongside the focus on music and media, students are taught essential skills such as literacy, numeracy and communication, as well as taking part in mindfulness and other wellbeing activities. Crucially, MOL adopt a holistic and flexible student-centred approach, as Adrian explains:
“Unlike other further education colleges, where we differ as an alternative path, is we’re a lot more accessible. We give them a lot of leeway, and we’re very flexible and student oriented.”
MOL work extensively in community outreach initiatives to further this accessibility, working with numerous careers services and organisations to find students, as well as travelling to events with their sound system-fitted van. This approach has led to students with no previous musical experience joining the project, such as Callum, who said:
“When I joined, I didn’t even know anything about music. I learnt a lot, and now I’ve started making rap. I picked up beat-making really easy, and now I just want to rap over it really. I’ve been doing a rap for my mum, because she’s always been there for me. She had me when she was 15, which is obviously a lot to do… and it’s helped me a lot. I’m a carer for my mum, and it gives me time to go out and do stuff that I haven’t done, and learn new skills. I’ve been enjoying it.”
Steve, another student at MOL, who also had no prior experience in music, described a similar transformation: “I was pretty much down in the dumps, no money no nothing, didn’t know where my life was going. But then I got in touch with Zippy (MOL Director), and my life’s gone up from there. I make music daily, I’ve got new hobbies – I actually enjoy my life now.”
The transformational impact of MOL on its students’ lives is plain to see when talking to them. One former student, Amelia, spoke of the impact her time there had on her self-confidence:
“I started two years ago at MOL Education. Honestly, best thing I’ve ever done in my life. I’ve always been into music, but I never thought I would have that voice to actually do it. Coming here, it’s changed my life completely. My confidence has gone from 1 to 100. I do suffer from anxiety, but coming here… I’m shining now! I’ve found myself and found my sound. I come here, and it feels like home. Everyone’s so nice and welcoming, and it’s such a good place to be!”
Amelia’s sentiments were echoed by two other students, John and Jet. John said, “The courses helped me a lot with making music … they also helped me build my confidence. I feel a much better person since coming here”.
Jet was drawn to MOL because of its musical grounding, but has felt a much broader development in himself since joining:
“I was excited to get into the course because it’s music related… when I first came into the course, I was shy and introverted… when a few months passed by I slowly progressed to become more mature and confident, expressing my emotions and stuff like that.”
Alongside helping them through their qualifications, the staff at MOL seek to offer practical and performance opportunities for students to be able to showcase their talents to the world. Students can now use The Container to record anytime they like, whilst many recently performed at the yearly MOL-organised Cardiff Music Conference, hosted at the iconic Clwb Ifor Bach in the city centre. The young artists are given the chance to perform, network, attend workshops, and interact with industry professionals, sharing a platform with big musical names.
Describing the feeling of performing at MOL events, Jet said that “the first time I performed, I was very nervous, because everyone feels like that – but I managed to express myself in front of everyone – I smashed it!”.
Another artist to perform at the Conference was Jess, a former student, who is about to start working as a staff member with MOL. She described finding the project by chance at her old job, and then going on a journey from student to artist and teacher:
“The direction my life was going in has turned… coming here, I’ve been able to embrace music, and have people believe it’s actually going somewhere… without MOL I’d literally just be sat around at home!”
To support its work with young people in Cardiff over recent years, Ministry of Life Education CIC has received grants from both the National Lottery Awards for All and People & Places funding programmes. To find out more about this funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, visit our website:
The National Lottery Community Fund Blog 