A total of £394,000 has been given out to good causes in the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector – all aimed at empowering residents and building skills to help people find work.
Cash has come from the Workers’ Educational Association via Greater Manchester Combined Authority with Trafford Council handling applications and making allocations.
The projects awarded money are set to benefit more than 600 residents as part of a programme that runs until March next year.
They range from teaching basic English and maths to developing cooking, outdoor and creative arts skills, under two strands, essential life skills and support towards inclusive employment.
They are:
- Gorse Hill Studies – empowering young adults across Trafford looking for work with a range of customised support and activities.
- Breathworks Foundation – providing self-management skills for a fuller and more active life to over 50s in Trafford living with challenging health conditions.
- Starting Point Community Learning Partnership – training volunteers towards qualifications with Trafford Libraries.
- Collaborative Women UK – training women with lived experience of gender-based violence in Stretford, Old Trafford, Partington and Sale West to run a programme of learning and skills to help others with.
- Henshaws Digital Skills Project – helping visually impaired residents in Trafford use technology for access to services as well as social and employment opportunities, as well as supporting younger people to overcome barriers to education and employment.
- The Conservation Volunteers – running a Women In The Wild programme of nature-based activities to empower unemployed women to pursue their ambitions.
- Our Sale West – coaching 16 to 18-year-olds in Sale and Sale West looking for a career in construction to get their Construction Skills Certification Scheme cards.
- Sale Moor Community Partnership – offering one-to-one and small group support to job seeking Sale Moor and Sale residents towards new opportunities.
- Cracking Good Food – working with Trafford people including former offenders on their cooking, budgeting and meal-planning skills that could lead to volunteering and employment opportunities.
- Groundwork – providing unemployed residents from all over Trafford with clothing, personal styling and job interview preparation through its Working Wardrobe scheme.
- Sale Sharks Foundation – supporting a range of residents in Trafford towards further learning and employment through its Raise Your Game initiative.
- Flourish Together – encouraging diverse women in Altrincham and Sale to develop their careers, moving forward from adversity and hardship towards financial resilience.
- Greater Manchester Youth Network – supporting young people across Trafford who have been in care to live independently, budgeting, managing bills and taking control of their futures.
- The Urban Fitness Collective – encouraging 16 to 25-year-olds in Partington, Stretford and Old Trafford to progress, learn and find work through sport.
- Hidden Treasures Trust – helping unemployed over 50s in Partington with life skills and self-belief.
- WETA Community Services – working with women of South Asian heritage in Old Trafford to get back into work after family caring and other commitments.
A spokesperson for Trafford Council said:
“We are delighted to be working with our partners to kickstart a range of great opportunities across the borough that will really help people.
“While the support and activities differ project by project, they are all designed to offer residents at various stages in their lives a reset and a restart that will lead to fulfilling working lives ahead.”
For more information about the projects please email employment@trafford.gov.uk.
