Teenagers take on the grave task of full-time work

Two teenagers are enjoying their first taste of working life thanks to a scheme supported by Manchester City Council.

Jason Farrington from Wythenshawe and Liam Keary from Longsight, are both 18 and had no regular work experience until they signed up for a special project aimed at young Manchester residents who were not in education, employment or training. The project involved  re-erecting over 4,500 privately owned memorial headstones at Southern and Philips Park Cemeteries. The headstones had been laid down on the ground  by the council several years ago after they failed safety tests.

Now they have both secured full-time apprenticeships working  within the City Council's cemeteries and to date over 3,000 of the headstones have been re-erected.

As part of their apprenticeships both Jason and Liam will also be learning to carry out all the tasks associated with maintaining  the city's cemeteries such as grounds maintenance and grave digging. They will also be working towards formal qualifications such as NVQ's

Manchester City Council's Executive Member for Culture and Leisure Councillor Mike Amesbury said: "Jason and Liam have both worked hard and have proved themselves to be valuable members of the cemeteries team."