Our Community Investment team have worked in Mansbridge for many years, and our legacy in the area extends to our very first activity as a housing provider. We have strong links in the community, and we’re passionate about supporting people to thrive in this area.
We recognise that, like many communities in the UK, Mansbridge has faced several challenges in recent years. From anti-social behaviour to high rates of unemployment amongst young people, we want to make sure that people in this area have equality of opportunity and positive life-chances.
We wanted to learn first-hand from the community how we can make Mansbridge a great place to live, so we undertook surveys and consultations with people living in the area to learn more about what might help. A lack of activities and employment opportunities both came up as two key areas that really needed focusing on, so our Employment and Community Investment teams are working hard to improve these areas.
Our starting point
We are pleased to be developing Herbert Collins House in Mansbridge, which is situated closely to the Round About Café. The development will include 14 affordable flats, and alongside the construction element we have put together an Employment Skills Plan which we hope will positively impact the local community.
Through this plan we want to support a minimum of 10 young people aged between 16 and 24 and aim to help more if possible. We want to encourage these young people to find sustainable career pathways, while meeting local people and taking part in meaningful activities. With this in mind, we are running a 10-week project which will help participants to learn a new skill and get active.
This project is two-fold. Alongside boxing sessions – which we know from research is a desired sport in this specific area – we are also asking participants to complete an accessible skills test. The CITB Health and Safety Environment Test, which will help young people to obtain a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card, giving them a foot in the door of construction. The boxing teaches discipline, improves work ethic, promotes self-control and increase self-confidence which are all valuable assets to finding and sustaining employment.
During this project participants will be fully supported by our employment team who will oversee their learning. Those who take part will also get first-hand work experience on a construction site, which will boost their CV and give them a real sense of what it’s like to work in this industry. Finally, at the end of the project, our team will work with each individual to help them find employment in construction.
A unique approach
As we are seeing, there are incredibly high levels of unemployment right now. And simply offering traditional training opportunities isn’t enough to inspire individuals to feel empowered to find a job or train in a new area.
By taking sport, especially one that is highly sought after, and then attaching that to an up-skilling and training project, we hope that young people in Mansbridge will feel confident to reach new goals and improve their quality of life. We also hope that, in turn, the wider community will see the benefits of this project and the wider Employment Skills Plan.
We want to keep finding new ways of engaging people in interesting activities and fun learning exercises that will ultimately result in employment. We won’t stop until we’ve helped as many people as possible.