28 April 2022 | All News
As of 2022, we’re lucky to be working with three local councils through the UK Community Renewal Fund*, a UK Government programme for 2021/22, which aims to support people and communities most in need across the UK to pilot programmes and new approaches to prepare for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. It invests in skills, community and place, local business, and supporting people into employment.
Young people in these counties have so far gained 100 Entry Level 3 City & Guilds accreditations as part of this programme.
We’re working with both Nottinghamshire County Council and Nottingham City Council across high priority wards for the region, to boost skills and employment. Here’s what we’ve been up to so far across our first three projects and what we have coming up!
YOUNG PEOPLE AND YOUTH ORGANISATIONS: If you’re interested in joining as a young person (aged 16-24) or as an opportunity for young people you work with, please get in touch via outreach@teamviy.com.
What we’ve been up to so far
Following our vibrant start at The Pythian Club with Nottingham City Council, we’ve since set to work on the next round of 23 community projects we’re completing across the county.
Since February, we’ve so far worked on five projects across four priority areas with Nottinghamshire County Council, regenerating spaces including:
- Vibrant Warsop Methodist Church
- Bassetlaw Citizens Advice
- Newark Amateur Boxing Club
- The Cuckney Club
Mansfield is one such priority area which includes our fifth project, The Old Library; a Grade II listed building used by the Inspire Youth Arts team for community arts activities, receiving a makeover to its interior and community cafe, to celebrate its 25th anniversary and revitalise the venue ahead of a busy summer of arts activity and performance.
15 young people, including painting & decorating students from the Mansfield campus of Vision West Nottinghamshire College and young people referred through Futures For You and the Inspire programme, have been gaining work experience through VIY whilst transforming the iconic building in their hometown. Executive Mayor of Mansfield, Andy Abrahams, recently paid a visit to the venue and he said:
“As a former teacher, I know that practical work experience is an invaluable part of learning. Working alongside local tradespeople will not only help develop their skills, but improve their confidence and inspire them to reach their full potential – hopefully leading to good quality employment. We want as many of our district’s young people as possible to take advantage of free opportunities like this.
“I’m so pleased that community assets in Mansfield are also benefiting from this project – it really is a win-win for all involved.”
One of our key Trade Partners, Travis Perkins, also began supporting our young people with work-readiness training, helping explore their career aspirations and how they can go about achieving them, with their first two sessions delivered at this project thanks to volunteers from their Apprenticeship & Kickstart teams.
Hear it straight from our young volunteers here, including Daniel, who heard about the opportunity for free work experience locally, whose ambition is to secure an apprenticeship in joinery, who shared the impact of this training and the project on them in this video.
Read about our work in the Mansfield Chad.
What we’re doing now and what’s coming up!
Elsewhere in partnership with Nottingham City Council, we’ve been working at Cavaliers & Carrington Cricket Club to renovate the outdoor seating areas (with great weather for it!) to attract a wider audience from the local, diverse communities, complete with renovated catering facilities to serve this audience and support the club financially.
At Clifton Boxing Club, where we are revitalising the changing rooms, facilities and exterior cladding for this local high impact community boxing club, we held our first ‘Taster Day’, welcoming partners from local youth organisations Groundwork and Futures For You, who have also referred young people onto our projects so far in the region, to see first hand what the VIY experience looks like, ahead of sharing the opportunity with young people they work with.
Groundwork also successfully signed up four out of six eligible young people to progress from VIY onto their Towards Work programme, working to support with the first vital steps towards gaining employment through a personalised service and support to overcome any barriers they may face. A great step for our young volunteers!
We’re then going full green fingers throughout May, heading outdoors to create accessible, garden spaces at Vale View Summerhouse for older residents and at schools including West Nottinghamshire College, Mansfield and Elizabethan Academy, Retford.
Click here to keep up to date with these next projects coming up across Nottinghamshire and our full pipeline of projects elsewhere across the country.
* For more information on the UK Community Renewal Fund, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-community-renewal-fund- prospectus
