The seven boys and one girl, aged between 16 and 25, completed Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service's 'FIREworks' course where they developed teamwork, leadership and communication skills through practical firefighting activities.
Each of the young people spent time at Berwick Fire Station tackling fire-related challenges guided by Fire and Rescue Service staff. In addition to firefighting, they were also involved in the regeneration of their local area through a community project day at Five Arches Park and attended 'life skills' sessions on road safety and first aid.
At the graduation ceremony at Berwick Fire Station on Friday, the young people displayed their new skills, including scaling ladders and running hoses, to specially invited guests including deputy chief fire officer Alex Bennett.
The course was supported by Berwick Youth Project who referred young people through to the Fire and Rescue Service and there is the opportunity for the 'graduates' to achieve a BTEC Award in Fire and Rescue Services in the Community. The course was part funded by the Northumberland Strategic Partnership Local Area Agreement Pump Priming Grant.
Alex Bennett, who presented the graduation certificates, said: "FIREworks is a challenging course and each of the 'graduates' should be very proud of their achievement. They have developed their teamworking skills, their self discipline and their community awareness plus they have gained firefighting skills too."