Golden Mede Housing Development
About the project
Golden Mede is a new housing development in Waddesdon, near Aylesbury, and VIY has worked closely with the Rothschild Foundation and Places for People, the lead contractor, to enable local unemployed and ‘at risk’ young people to gain work experience on site.
Under the guidance of VIY Lead Mentors and other professional tradespeople, 20 young people recruited via local youth work organisations, including Aylesbury Youth Concern, have learnt and applied skills such as bricklaying, plastering, carpentry/joinery and plumbing. In the process, the young people have completed more than 800 guided learning hours, with eight participants successfully gaining a City & Guilds Entry Level 3 construction skills qualification and eight also achieving the Lincsafe health and safety accreditation, enabling them to undertake paid work on construction sites.
The Golden Mede project was also visited and filmed by Guy Martin and Channel 4 for Guy’s Building Britain series of films on All 4 that highlight the UK’s national shortage of building and construction skills – and all five young Golden Mede VIY participants featured in the film have already successfully progressed into paid employment beyond the project.
