EMPLOYEES at Metrolink’s operator swapped trams for the classroom when they helped teenagers decorate Cheeky Monkeys family centre in Sale.

The team from Metrolink RATP Dev, which operates the network on behalf of Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), got in their overalls and picked up their paintbrushes as part of the company’s community support scheme.

The project was organised by a group of 16 and 17-year-olds currently taking part in the National Citizen Service, a personal development programme which involves organising a social action project that will benefit the local community.

The work, which took place on August 19, saw the exterior walls and fences surrounding the pre-school repaired and painted and the main path transformed into a ‘yellow brick road’. The group is also raising money to help build a climbing frame and swing set for the garden.

Metrolink RATP Dev is supporting the National Citizen Service through a partnership with charity, Salford Foundation. It chose to support the project after a Dragons’ Den style pitch from the teenagers at an event at MediaCityUK which saw young people ask local businesses for support.

Marie Daly, Director of HR, Metrolink RATP Dev said: “The Metrolink system continues to grow and we now have a presence in more and more communities within Greater Manchester. As the operator of Metrolink, we have a responsibility to the areas we operate in and our work with Salford Foundation is the first step in supporting the local community.

“We were really keen to support this group as their pitch in the Dragons’ Den was great and we felt it was an extremely worthy cause. As you can imagine we have quite a handy bunch of employees working for us, including technicians and engineers, so as well as giving the financial support to the project, we also felt we could help out in a practical way too.”

The National Citizen Service (NCS) offers 16 and 17 year olds in Salford and Trafford an opportunity to participate in a personal development programme. The participants will engage in a pre-programme of team building activities, followed by residential experiences that will provide the skills and knowledge necessary for their task of creating and delivering a social action project that will benefit the community.