Tinie Tempah joins forces with NCS to champion teens

Talented British artist Tinie Tempah is adding another string to his bow of musician, entrepreneur and fashion icon by becoming an ambassador for NCS (National Citizen Service).

At an NCS National Youth Board meeting in Camden, Tinie surprised a group of 50 NCS grads who were helping to plan the future of NCS, as it was revealed he'll be working with the youth organisation.

A talented child musician, Tinie was bound for stardom from a young age and conceived his stage name "Tinie Tempah" at the age of 12 when most of his friends were more interested in watching Top of the Pops, than being on Top of the Pops.

NCS is the fastest growing youth programme for 16-17 year olds across England and Northern Ireland. Over 130,000 young people have taken part so far, giving more than 3 million hours of their time to social action projects. NCS helps teens build new skills for work and life, through a mix of amazing outdoor adventure and community projects. 78% of teens who have been through NCS feel they've built important skills for the future.*

Tinie will work as an ambassador for NCS throughout 2015, mentoring teens on the programme, using his fashion experience to help design a new NCS T-shirt for 2016 graduates, and visiting young people on NCS to help them make the most of their hidden talents.

At the launch, Tinie talked about the skills he uses every day in his roles as a musician, entrepreneur and fashion designer. He related these back to the skills teens develop through NCS – working in a team, leadership skills, learning to mix with new people, planning a project and presentation skills - the lessons they don't teach in the classroom.

Tinie Tempah said: "When I was growing up I was lucky enough to realise my musical talents and given the opportunity to pursue it. Unfortunately today's teens don't always have the same opportunities. Chatting with teens today who are NCS graduates I can appreciate how valuable the programme is in giving teens the confidence and self-belief to uncover their hidden talents. NCS equips young people with the skills they need to follow their dreams and if I were 16 or 17 I'd sign up today and have the best summer ever whilst setting myself up for Year 12 or Sixth Form College."

For more information, and to ensure you don't miss out on NCS this summer sign up via ncsyes.co.uk