2020 Mowlem Award winners case study
EN:Able Communities
EN:Able Communities Head of Operations, Simeon Perry, talks to us about the organisation and what winning the 2020 Mowlem Award means to them.
Please tell us a little about EN:Able Communities and what you do
EN:Able Communities is the charitable arm of Efficiency North. Set up in 2015, EN:Able Communities promotes the regeneration of communities in the Yorkshire and Humber region of northern England. We focus on supporting people through employment and skills. One of our programmes, the Humber Construction Hub, has given 762 people training opportunities and experience of the construction industry, including 259 who gained full-time employment within the industry.
What does winning the Mowlem Award and the grant mean to you and your organisation?
We are thrilled to receive this award. It is particularly important to us because it has been such a difficult year for social and business organisations and a couple of our funders have rescinded their contributions, meaning we have had to apply for grants such as this one.
The work is very important to the citizens of the area as youth unemployment has rocketed. Hull in particular has been cited as one of the worst areas in the country for youth unemployment. The opportunity to support people into an industry like construction where there is defined need for talent is a fantastic one.
How will the funding help you and/or your organisation? What will it allow you to achieve?
We will use the funding to deliver entry-level remote construction training to 121 young people and those wishing to change careers. The programme will involve 11 separate sessions to 11 people at a time over a 12-month period, and has been designed to comply with coronavirus restrictions.
The project will give the students the required recognised industry skills and knowledge to gain a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card, which will allow them to work on construction sites. We can then build on this to work with our construction partners to help the students find employment opportunities.
Anything you’d like to say about the service and support you’ve received from us?
EN:Able Communities is delighted to have been selected as the winner of this award. We very much look forward to working with B&CE and in particular using this grant funding to support young people into construction training, skills and work in the Humber area; a locality in considerable need of employment regeneration.