Work Experience Project

A group of young people have taken part in a project to improve their skills, try out work in the construction industry – and give a local community a facelift.

 The project was launched by Sadeh Lok Housing Group in partnership with Jobcentre Plus and ‘build’, a local purchasing and labour initiative for the construction industry in Kirklees.  It took place at the Red Doles housing estate in Huddersfield, where the volunteers repaired and painted fences and carried out basic landscaping work.

The young people, who are accessing unemployment support from Jobcentre Plus, gained valuable skills and experience to improve their employability, as well as sampling the type of work they could apply for in the construction industry.  Throughout the project the volunteers were supervised and supported by a site advisor provided by ‘build’.

Work was originally planned for four weeks but it proved such a success that the project doubled in length. In total, eight young people were able to benefit and three of the original volunteers decided to stay on for the full eight weeks.

Volunteer Simon Firth, from Meltham, said: “I wanted to see this through to the end. I hope that this experience will help me find employment. It is a good opportunity and I enjoy the work and that it benefits other people.”

Local resident Carol Williams said: “It is nice to see young people taking part in the project. They are very pleasant and the area has benefited from the facelift.”

Mr Paul Dolan, Chief Executive of Sadeh Lok, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with ‘build’ and Jobcentre Plus on this community initiative at our Red Doles housing scheme.  The individuals participating in the project are gaining valuable work experience and our residents are seeing significant improvement to the environment they live in. This is a win-win initiative for all involved.”

Cllr Peter McBride, Kirklees Council Cabinet member for Regeneration, said: “We are pleased to be supporting this project as it clearly demonstrates how partnership working can benefit the local environment, economy and people.  Together with Sadeh Lok and Jobcentre Plus, we have paved the way for other local companies to set up similar work experience schemes which benefit everyone involved.”