Project to help the unemployed into the construction sector wins £20,000 Mowlem Award

A grant from B&CE’s Charitable Trust¹ will help pay for unemployed people living in Yorkshire and the Humber region to receive training they need to work in the construction industry.

The 2020 Mowlem Award² has been won by EN:Able Communities³, the charitable arm of the not-for-profit Efficiency North organisation, which will spend the money delivering entry-level remote construction training to 121 young people and those wishing to change careers. The training programme will be designed to comply with coronavirus restrictions. The charity works in areas with extremely high levels of youth unemployment and is also focused on encouraging more females into construction. The Mowlem Award is an annual £20,000 grant given to organisations to help make a real difference towards better training or the promotion of health and safety in construction.

Judges of the award were impressed by EN:Able Communities’ plan to deliver the training over a 12-month period, giving the students the required skills and knowledge to gain a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card. The card will allow them to work on construction sites. The charity has a proven track record of helping people find work through the Humber Construction Hub, which gave 762 people opportunities and experience of the industry, including 316 who gained full-time employment, with 259 achieving the minimum of 12 weeks.

Two other organisations, St Mungo’s⁴ and Bounce Back Foundation⁵, were both highly commended by Mowlem Award judges and each received a grant of £5,000.

Nicola Sinclair, spokesperson for B&CE’s Charitable Trust, said: “This year we have had a record number of applications for the Mowlem Award, which only made it more difficult for the trustees to choose the winner of the Mowlem award, although we are delighted to have also been able to make smaller awards to two highly commended entrants.

“We were very impressed with the winning application from EN:Able Communities as it will not only offer much-needed support to deprived communities but will provide a great service to the construction industry, which is always in need of bright new talent. B&CE’s Charitable Trust has a rich history of supporting the industry and those who make their living from it and we are very excited to see the outcome of what promises to be a hugely beneficial project.”

Simeon Perry, head of operations at EN:Able Communities, said: “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 where there is a defined need for talent is a fantastic one.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. B&CE’s Charitable Trust was set up in 1991 to give back to the construction industry by providing help for people working in construction in times of need, including grants towards education, financial support and retraining. It has given out more than £3.6 million in charitable donations. B&CE Group is a not-for-profit organisation established in 1942 by unions and federations with the intention of providing financial products for the construction industry. Today B&CE is perhaps best known for The People’s Pension, a leading workplace pension scheme with more than five million pension savers from over 90,000 employers and £12 billion assets under management.
2. Launched in 2015, the Mowlem Award furthers the work of the RI Beck Trust – a charity set up in 1983 by the construction company, Mowlem. The annual £20,000 grant is awarded to organisations that can demonstrate they will make a real difference towards training or the promotion of health and safety in construction.
3. EN: Able is the charity arm of Efficiency North, a not for profit organisation which works across a number of platforms to improve life for deprived communities across the Yorkshire and Humber region.
4. St Mungo’s is a homeless charity that gives a bed and support to more than 3,150 people a day, and each year it supports more than 30,000 people to find housing, develop skills and improve their physical and mental wellbeing.
5. Bounce Back Foundation was founded in 2011 and works with ex-offenders to drive social change and tackle the issue of re-offending. The charity works in the community as well as inside prisons throughout London.