local people!Local jobs for

Job and apprenticeship opportunities

Sherwood’s social enterprise means business

Training workshops

A talent for business

Sherwood’s successful Jobs Fair

Sonny Keene, 22, is an apprentice plumber currently working on the redevelopment of the Sherwood estate. 

Sonny, who lives locally, started his apprenticeship in June last year. He works four days a week learning practical skills on site and attends college on day release where he is currently working towards a Level 2 Technical Certificate in Plumbing.  Despite not having any previous site-based experience, Sonny has really impressed the team of site managers with his willingness to learn new skills.

Sonny has grasped the opportunity with both hands. ‘I’ve really enjoyed my apprenticeship so far and am grateful for the opportunity that has been given to me by Reds10, Town & Country, Hill and Orchard Plumbing’, he said. ‘Working on site is hard work but it has definitely been worthwhile as I have learnt so much about the construction industry.’

Sonny is due to complete his apprenticeship this month and has been offered a contract with Orchard Plumbing who will support Sonny through the next stage of his course.

A partnership project between a number of agencies will provide IT skills and pre-employment support to up to 400 local residents in Sherwood.

Access All Areas sees Town & Country Foundation, Working Futures, Counselling First, St Philip’s Church and St Gregory’s School working together to deliver weekly two-hour training sessions.

St Gregory’s School will provide ICT training, Working Futures will offer pre-employment advice and

Counselling First will focus on building self confidence and dealing with any mental health concerns or issues.

The sessions have been put on following feedback from local residents who took part in Working Futures’ programmes.

The Access All Areas sessions take place every Wednesday from 12noon to 2pm at St Philip’s Church. They are open to anyone to attend, so if you want to find out more call Dawn Grant on 07736 946333 or just turn up on the day!

Follow @tandcfoundation to find out more about the Access All Areas sessions.

find out more... For details about upcoming apprenticeship opportunities

www.k-10.com

Sonny’s ‘Keene’ to learn!Local labour and apprenticeshipsPrior to the Lakewood development starting, Town & Country drew up a training and experience programme which set out plans to get more than 600 young people involved in the development over five years (from 2012 to 2017).

As of March this year 522 students have made school visits to the site and a further 180 have held school workshops on site. 28 students have done work experience and there have been ten NVQs and over 20 short courses undertaken by those working on site.

Town & Country also committed to ensuring 16 apprenticeship opportunities were created. So far six apprentices have been recruited with a further six to be in place over the next 12 months.

In addition over 20% of local labour is being used across Town & Country’s development sites in Ramslye and Sherwood.

Finally everyone working on site at Lakewood and Ramslye must be registered with the Construction Industry Scheme and with the HMRC, and therefore must be a UK resident and registered for tax in this country. All subcontractors and everyone employed by them are UK based.

Access All Areas!

Knights Wood, the new housing development at Knights Park, will be built by Dandara, one of the UK’s largest independent property development companies. Here they tell us about the job and apprenticeship opportunities that will be available.

Dandara’s approach is unique within the industry because it looks to employ the majority of its professional staff and tradespeople directly, only using sub-contractors for specialist work.

When construction reaches its peak, Dandara will need to employ approximately 120 staff at Knights Wood across the following roles:

• Ground-workers• Slingers, signallers, traffic and waste

management staff• Machine operators• Bricklayers• Carpenters• Plasterboarders and dry liners• Plasterers• Painters• Ceramic tilers

This will include ten new apprenticeships:• Three bricklayers• Three carpenters• One plasterer• Two painters• One ceramic tiler

Dandara has already met with K College, which has a campus just a ten minute walk from Knights Wood and already offers a number of apprenticeships.

The construction-based facilities at the North Farm campus are extremely impressive and Dandara hopes to work closely with K College, to recruit suitable local apprentices and possibly also for trainee and graduate roles. Future Dandara vacancies will be advertised by K College and the two organisations hope to run recruitment days in the future.

Where specialist sub-contractors are needed, Dandara will encourage them to employ apprentices and trainees of their own from the local area.

Further office and site staff will also be required as the project moves into its construction phase, including Site Management and Engineering, Commercial and Technical staff through to Sales

and Business Support colleague vacancies. To date, Dandara has recruited approximately 15 staff for its new Tunbridge Wells office in Calverley Road, with over two thirds coming from within a 15 mile radius. 

Dandara hopes that by recruiting locally, it will benefit from local knowledge and avoid the need for lengthy commutes.

Wherever possible, all vacancies will be advertised at the local job centre and in the local press. Dandara also welcomes the opportunity to attend any local job or career fairs – and was present at the event hosted by Greg Clark MP at the TN2 Centre in March.

Job opportunities at Knights Wood

find out more...

knightswoodrecruitment @dandara.com

Business is booming for Green Team Enterprises, a Sherwood-based business that’s been flourishing since it was started just 18 months ago. Green Team Enterprises (GTE) is a social enterprise that was formed in October 2012 and began trading a month later with the support of Town & Country Housing Group.

An innovative response to residents’ complaints

When Sherwood residents began passing on their concerns about the standard of cleaning in the communal areas of Town & Country’s properties in Sherwood the housing association decided to review the situation and their use of a cleaning contractor based in East Kent.

Town & Country Foundation, the charitable arm of Town & Country Housing Group, took on the task of looking not just at how the cleaning service could be improved, but also how else the Sherwood community might benefit from the situation.

A social enterprise that would train and employ local people to run and deliver the service was the obvious

answer. But the Foundation was even more ambitious than that. The long term plan was not just to provide cleaning, but to add other services so that employees would receive training in a wider variety of tasks and become multi-skilled.

A growing range of services

From providing just cleaning, GTE now offers a range of services including removals, clearance, fencing, painting and decorating, ground works and landscape construction.

GTE started off employing just two part-time members of staff to deliver the cleaning service for a period of six months to the local community. Within six months they had secured a number of contracts working for other organisations as well, such as Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, the YMCA, Hill Partnerships and Countrywise Repairs.

Sherwood’s flourishing social

enterprise means business!

Making a difference some of Britain’s most successful social entrepreneursBritain has many social entrepreneurs who have created successful social enterprise businesses. Below are two of Your Sherwood’s favourites.

John Bird– creator of The Big Issue

John Bird founded The Big Issue with Gordon Roddick in 1991. A former rough sleeper, his innovative concept was to offer homeless people a ‘hand-up, not a hand-out’. Selling The Big Issue magazine gave socially excluded people the chance to earn a legitimate income. Today, more than twenty years later, over 2,500 homeless vendors in the UK buy the weekly magazine for £1.25 and sell it for £2.50, making 50% profit per issue. The business turns over £6million.

Trevor Baylis OBE– inventor of the wind-up radio

Trevor is one of Britain’s most prominent inventors, having invented everything from a mobile phone that’s charged by a special pair of shoes as you walk to a self-weighing briefcase.

In 1991, after watching a programme on the spread of HIV-AIDs in Africa, Trevor Baylis set about developing the world’s first wind-up radio. His first working prototype ran for 14 minutes and in 1994 was featured on BBC Tomorrow’s World TV programme.

The invention has gone on to make a difference to millions of people living in poverty in Africa.

From its two part-time employees GTE has also grown its team to now include a director, two supervisors, two operatives, two temps, two sub-contractors, one administrator and two volunteer work placements. In total there are ten people involved on a permanent basis and six full-time employees. All, except one, are from Sherwood and all were previously unemployed.

Green Team Enterprises has been supported by Town & Country through the provision of access to training, the development of a training matrix for the business, and access to legal and compliance services.

STOP PRESS - Green Team up for awards!

Green Team Enterprises, along with Town & Country Foundation, who helped set up Green Team have recently been nominated for two national awards – the INMOTION Project of the Year and a Third Sector Business Charity Award.

We will let you know in the next edition of Your Sherwood how they got on.

The Young Start-Up Talent West Kent competition, which is now into its second year, gives one lucky young entrepreneur an opportunity to win £50,000 of business support.

Last year’s winner was Mohammed Abuysayed whose SMT Trading UK Limited hires out linen based products such as table slips, napkins, chef jackets and aprons, sells their own branded hot towels and provides a laundry service to businesses.

Your Sherwood caught up with Mohammed to find out how the £50,000 prize fund has made a difference to his business...

YS: What has it meant to you, winning this competition? MA: One of the main things winning Young Start-Up has done is to speed up the progress of my company. For instance one of the first things I did after winning Young Start Up was to buy a van to transport stock. But the other thing is the confidence and belief it has given me in myself and my business ideas.

YS: Has there been anything particularly useful from the £50,000 prize fund? MA: The funding has been great, I will be getting a website, logo and branding developed over the next few months which is fantastic. But best of all is having access to Lorraine and Matt (who founded the Young Start Up Competition) and being able to talk to them and get advice from them on my business whenever I need to.

YS: How is the business going now? MA: I’ve now got 24 contracts and clients across the South-East, from Whitstable to Brighton. And I hope to be moving the company into a warehouse that will be kitted out with a washing machine, tumbledryer, steam press and more very soon. Once I’ve done that I would like to look at expanding and working with wedding venues and hotels. So all in all it is going very well.

YS: What would your advice be to anyone thinking about entering the Young Start Up

Business is booming for Mohammed !competition in the future? There is absolutely nothing to lose and a lot to gain, so go for it! It has made a big difference to me and my company.

SMT Trading Ltd provides businesses with linen-based products and a laundry service. If you are interested in finding out more contact Abu by calling 07795 557702 or emailing smttradinguk@gmail.com

About Young Start-UpThe Young Start-Up Competition been running successfully in London and the South-East for three years and has a string of success stories. Last year was the first year it ran in West Kent. It is aimed at helping 16 to 25 year olds with an entrepreneurial flair for business make their dreams a reality.

The winner gets £50,000 worth of support donated by local businesses. This includes cash and other services such as advice on legal, accountancy and HR issues, signage, PR & Marketing, information communications technology, radio advertising, premises and more.

Entries for this year’s Young Start Up Talent competition have closed, but will soon open again for next year’s competition – so start thinking big now!

find out more... www.youngstartuptalent.co.uk

Want to know if self employment is an option? Or are you ambitious to start or grow a business? The Centre for Micro Business (CMB) can help.

Be Your Own Boss.If you are looking to go self-employed the CMB’s ‘Be Your Own Boss’ scheme runs free support sessions and offers access to advice and guidance, as well as helping you find fully funded support.

It is free local service for Kent entrepreneurs. The initiative is funded by the West Kent Partnership supported by Kent County Council and delivered by Job Centre Plus.

Mind Your Own BusinessIf you are looking to start or grow a business the CMB’s ‘Mind Your Own Business’ scheme might help. Their group of expert entrepreneurs can support you and bring practical and affordable resources to get you up and running. You don’t need to bring anything but your passion and energy!

For more information on either of these schemes contact The Centre for Micro Business.

Be Your Own BossCall – 01233 653974Email – byob@cmbcic.co.uk

Mind Your Own BusinessCall – 0845 689 1290Tel/text – 07805 764192 or 07505 540440Email – info@cmbcic.co.uk

Or visit www.cmbcic.co.uk

Escalate Loans ....................Local businesses can now apply for interest-free loans to help their business grow with the launch of the Escalate scheme.£5.5million of central government funding has been secured to offer 0% loans to local small and medium sized businesses, who would like to grow their business quickly and create new jobs. This funding was secured by the West Kent Partnership (Sevenoaks District Council and Tonbridge and Malling and Tunbridge Wells Borough Councils) and KCC Council and was launched on Friday 6 Dec 2013.For more information and to apply visit the Escalate Loan page on the KCC website.www.kent.gov.uk/business/business-loans-and-funding/escalate-fund

Business help is at hand For dads and lads

moving into workAre you male and thinking of returning to work or taking up a college course to refresh your skills? Need some help to get you started?

Working Futures will be running a series of free ‘Dads and Lads’ workshops for Sherwood residents over the coming months. The four-week workshops are aimed at helping you to get into work or to find the right college course. They cover:• identifying your skills and building your

confidence• preparing your CV and making it get noticed• interview skills and finding hidden jobs• the benefits of volunteering, work experience

and the impact on benefits.

All courses are in small groups, informal, informative and fun!

So dads and lads, to find out more and to register your interest contact David on 07860 295978 or email him on d-gr@hotmail.co.uk

‘A good way to build confidence’

‘A great opportunity to write a CV’

‘Very helpful’

‘Very friendly and welcoming’

More than 400 people looking for work or apprenticeships turned up to see what was on offer at the first ever Sherwood Jobs and Training Fair in March.

The event, which took place at the TN2 Community Centre, gave local people the chance to meet a number of local employers with job and apprenticeship opportunities available. These included Argos, Asda, Dandara, First Care, The Hop House, KFC, McDonalds and Tunbridge Wells Hospital.

Greg Clark MP was also there holding a drop-in advice surgery, as was Tunbridge Wells Councillor Bob Backhouse.

Greg Clark MP was thrilled with how the event went...

Sherwood Jobs Fair is a huge success!

The atmosphere at the Jobs Fair was really buzzing – it was great to be able to bring together people looking for work with local employers who had

jobs on offer. One employer had 30 jobs available and some people were offered work there and then.

It was also great to have Dandara at the Jobs Fair. They have already recruited ten people from the local area and, in total, the site will

offer around 190 new jobs and apprenticeships once construction begins.

I would like to thank everyone who helped organise the event including the teams from Jobcentre Plus and the TN2 Community Centre, plus Town & Country Housing Group and Tunbridge Wells Borough Council.

As it went so well, I’ll certainly be looking to have more of these events in the future.’

JOBS, APPRENTICESHIPS AND TRAININGThis supplement was brought to you by the numerous organisations working together to improve training and employment prospects in Sherwood. They include: Town & Country Housing Group, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, Kent County Council, K College, Dandara, Job Centre Plus, Green Team Enterprises, Hill Partnerships, REDS10 and others.