Employment

Groundwork Solent is commited to helping people who are unemployed to develop their skills and experience by working on regeneration projects in their own neighbourhoods, helping them to obtain employment in the future. As part of this, we run a team of volunteers on two occassions each month, many of whom have recently left full time education. Members of this team work on a wide range of projects, expanding their range of skills and improving their self esteem. The experienced gained by volunteering has allowed a large number of Groundwork volunteers to go on to obtain employment.

Future Jobs Fund

Working in partnership with agencies including Groundwork UK, Hampshire County Council, Job Centre Plus and the Department for Work and Pensions, Groundwork Solent has successfully delivered land based training to over 140 young people who were previously long term unemployed.

Working across Hampshire and West Sussex, Brighton and Wokingham the groups have had the opportunity to build everything from ponds, to steps, to show gardens. The groups have learned skills in horticulture and maintenance from carrying out regular grounds maintenance at the Royal Haslar hospital in Gosport and Rights of Way and access provision from maintaining footpaths and bridleways in the New Forest.

During the course of the scheme the Community Taskforce teams have supported local communities in Portsmouth, Gosport, Havant, Fareham, Eastleigh, Southampton, Winchester and the New Forest. By carrying out works such as creating access pathways and renovating gardens at St. Marks Church, Woolston, and estate improvements in Leigh Park, Havant the teams are an invaluable resource for the local area.

Groundwork has also been able to place trainees with other organisations involved with community support including Quadron Services in Wokingham, First Wessex Housing in Portsmouth, The Business Community Partnership in Brighton, Southampton City Council and Enterprise in Gosport in order to gain new and different experiences to help them into long term employment.

For more information on the Community Taskforce and how it could help you, please contact Gretel.Ingham@groundwork.org.uk

Environmental Task Force

Logo : The Partnership

Photo : Groundwork staff with ETF member The Environmental Task Force was a volunteer team established to offer participants a chance to learn new skills and build self esteem whilst providing environmental improvements that would benefit the wider community.

The project consisted of two 6 week programmes with 8 volunteers taking part in each. Each of the programmes involved 6 work days during which the teams worked on a variety of environmental improvement projects throughout the local area.

The project was a great success for both the volunteers and the recipients of their hard work. The variety of work that was organised for these task days benefited many worthy organisations and sites. These included Priddy’s Hard Coastal Reserve, Leesland Park, Alverstoke Junior School, Wicor School, Charles Dickens School, Thornhill Park, Hermitage Community Garden, Alver Valley and Gosport BMX track.

Many of the volunteers have since progressed on to full time work, with others returning to education.

Creating the Challenge course

Groundwork Solent’s Future Jobs Fund team have been working with the QE2 Activity centre to create challenge course for disabled people.

The Future Jobs Fund team was working for a week during February 2010 and got to put their good skills to use by building this course, such as carpentry skills and hard labour. With these skills the team were able to add totally new features to rebuild the challenge course. In particular, the team added a bakers table and a car wash to the challenge course which will encourage balance and skill of the course users. The team are very pleased with their work and said they enjoyed the job itself and that at the same time they were putting something good into the community.

Phil Oates, the manager at the QE2 Activity Centre, said “This will be the third year running we have worked with Groundwork Solent to carry out projects at the QE2 Activity Centre. The support given in the past has enhanced each project and we are looking forward to working with Groundwork Solent again”.

The picture shows the team using various materials which were generously donated by local businesses and companies.