A north east charity is tackling youth unemployment and homelessness through a new apprenticeship scheme funded by a £40,000 grant.
Community Campus 87, a community social enterprise, has created apprenticeships for six long-term-unemployed young people, thanks to the donation from Middlesbrough and Teeside Philanthropic Foundation.
The apprentices will work across Middlesbrough, Stockton and Redcar, helping to renovate derelict properties that will go on to house homeless youngsters.
Skills for life
Two of the two-year apprenticeships will be in construction and give the young people experience in a range of skills including bricklaying, painting and decoration. The remaining four will be in housing and administration.
Simon Virth, service manager for Community Campus ’87, told Gazette Live: “This funding will make a huge difference to the lives of six young people, giving them purpose, confidence, hope and aspiration.
“We are reliant on this type of funding to create opportunities for young people, so it’s fair to say that if we hadn’t received this money from the Foundation then we wouldn’t be able to offer these life opportunities to six young people.
Boosting employability
“We look to create opportunities for young people to become more self-reliant, and becoming employable is naturally a great way to do that. By creating apprenticeships we hope we’ll ensure these young people will become employable and therefore enjoy a better life.”
Community Campus has a long heritage of supporting young apprentices, with 18 of the 23 they’ve trained now in employment, either with the organisation itself or with local firms.
Shaun Hughes, director of Erimus Insurance Brokers, one of the Philanthropic Foundation’s patrons, added: “A big part of what the Foundation is all about is helping to change the lives of Teesside people for the better, and this is one of the best examples of us doing just that.
“We’re working with the brilliant Teesside organisation to fund six apprenticeships that would not have otherwise existed, helping to kick-start the lives of six young people that need our helping hand.
“Erimus and our fellow Foundation patrons are proud to be making a real difference to Teesside people on projects such as this.”
