A marriage made in Housing

Published by PGarcia for Independent People in Housing and also in Education

1625 Independent People team up with Filton College to solve issues for local young people.  

"Getting work experience on real jobs is really hard for young construction apprentices." That is what the Head of Construction Training at Filton College commented to youth homelessness charity Chief Executive, Dom Wood, who replied "Well, we could definitely do with some help with our properties..."   

That's how the idea came about for students on Building and Construction Courses at Filton College to take on repair jobs in the charity's properties.

Groups of four or five students and their tutor will take on repair and maintenance jobs as part of their course.  Also young people housed by Independent People with a tutor will do up their properties as part of an introduction to construction course with Filton College.

Independent People support 16-25 year olds who are homeless by providing housing, support and advice. Any young person they support who is interested in finding out about the courses will be able to sign up for a taster day and join the students on site to get a feel for construction.

In addition to this scheme, the Charity and College are in talks with the local authorities and housing associations with a view to renovating empty properties, under the Homes and Communities Agency Empty Homes programme. The properties would be used to house young homeless people.

Dom Wood said
"This partnership is a brilliant opportunity to help turn a raft of problems into positive outcomes for young people."

George Ridd, Head of Construction at Filton college said that "this is a wonderful opportunity for our young apprentices to experience working in a fully commercial environment and gain the relevant experience necessary for the completion of their qualifications”