Venture inside the museum at Old Trafford and beyond the treasure trove of storied memorabilia, trophies and other incredible artefacts, fans will come across Manchester United Foundation’s own special ode to the Reds – the Skills Lab.

The Skills Lab is a unique and innovative learning environment which welcomes visitors from around the world, and is inspired by some of the most recognisable elements of Old Trafford with a dedicated press area, plus other parts honouring the pitch and home dressing room.

Last season, the Skills Lab received almost 15,000 visitors from 30 different countries, providing a commercial income stream to support the Foundation’s community work across Manchester and beyond.

And recently, a group of the Foundation’s own participants had the chance to sample the space, taking part in an ‘Unlocking your potential’ workshop alongside a tour of the stadium and access to the museum.

Young people from our 16+ education programmes and Foundation volunteers enjoyed the unique opportunity to work in the space and develop their employability skills.

“We’ve been in the Skills Lab today and we’ve been doing some games about communication, teamwork and learning some skills,” said Amelia, a student on the Sport and Youth Leadership degree, delivered by the Foundation and Manchester Metropolitan University.

“The first game we played was four of us in the group, we had to move some cups attached together by strings to build a pyramid, but we weren’t allowed to talk. It made us work together as a team, be more patient with each other and show perseverance.”

As well as taking part in the workshops, the Skills Lab’s dressing room space features special player memorabilia from recent United history, including Peter Schmeichel goalkeeping gloves, Bruno Fernandes’ boots and a series of match-worn shirts, sported by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Ella Toone.

Maya, a fellow degree student, said: “It’s a safe space for us and there are the different areas with the Man United memorabilia and the pitch area, where we get to do all the games. It’s a nice space to learn.”

Amelia added: “It’s always good getting to come into Old Trafford, all the new opportunities we get and seeing things like these shirts, it’s special as a United fan.

“Having these spaces, it allows you to learn new skills and progress with our university work, it’s really beneficial for us and it’s been really good.”