New jobs and three more contracts for employment charity

The Employability Trust has been awarded a major contract to refurbish and upholster furniture for Hill Cross, who supply to leading food chains including Nandos and Pizza Express.

The Peterlee-based charity, whose commercial arm, UK Solutions, has enhanced its ability to secure bigger, longer term conracts from some of the North East’s leading manufacturers, has also been commissioned by Durham Box to package materials for the automotive industry.

The expansion of the Employability Trust’s client portfolio has led to a 78 per cent increase in staff, including eight people who have been taken on during November and December.

Bill Marley, chief executive, said: “It’s been a fantastic year for the trust and to end on such a high really is the icing on the cake for us.

“We’ve not only grown our portfolio in terms of the companies we work with but since launching our commercial arm, UK Solutions, we’re also winning larger, longer-term contracts which have boosted our core revenue streams and given us stability. This is a big thing for us because it means we can plan our workload and capacity rather than having to be reactive.

“The contracts we’ve won with Hill Cross and Durham Box are definitely a step up and are reflective of just how much the Employability Trust and UK Solutions have grown in 2016.”

This year has also seen the expansion of the Employability Trust into Seaham, with a new unit within Castle Eden Brewery at Spectrum Business Park, and, with talks ongoing to open a further facility in Darlington.

The Employability Trust was set up by Bill Marley five years ago to help young people gain the skills and experience needed to secure sustainable employment. In that time the team has helped hundreds of people, who had struggled to find work, into secure employment with a range of companies throughout the region, including BHK, Benfield Motors and Décor Panels.

Bill added: “We’re ending the year on a high and I am genuinely excited for 2017. Our offering is so much stronger now as we’re able to provide so much more to clients, including manufacturing and upholstery, which in turn means we can deliver more practical skills training to the young people who come through our door.

“We’ve really established ourselves as the go-to support for many regional manufacturing companies and we’re ideally positioned to grow our portfolio even more next year.”