Two Hull care leavers are thriving after being offered work placements with a major Hull construction firm.
Jimmy Green and Nathan Bray, both 21, have accepted paid training and development roles with The Ashcourt Group, a family-run company with more than 300 employees.
Jimmy and Nathan had been working with Room 42, a care leavers’ hub in the Guildhall, to learn more about education, training and employment.
Room 42 is a Hull City Council initiative to help care leavers to prepare for their futures by offering a range of support and advice.
The pair attended Friday drop-in sessions and activates designed to develop relationships and build confidence.
They completed an assessment and referral made to the council’s Care Leaver Working Group, which is made up of HCC colleagues from the learning and development team, Hull Training and Adult Education, employability and skills and regeneration teams, as well as the council’s Young People’s Regeneration Champions.
Jimmy and Nathan then went on an industry tour of the Albion Square development with the council’s Major Projects team.
They were then offered the work placements to spend time on some Ashcourt developments.
After a three-week work trial, both had impressed Ashcourt managers enough to be offered the paid training opportunities.
Now Jimmy has been commended for his participation in industry training, while Nathan has been taken on in a full-time permanent position.
Mark Jones, Hull City Council’s director of regeneration, said: “I would like to congratulate both Jimmy and Nathan on their hard work and commitment since starting their placements with Ashcourt. They are both smart and hard-working young men who are now on the path towards bright futures.
“We are very proud of both Jimmy and Nathan, who are great examples of how the council’s fantastic care leavers’ initiative can help young people in the city.”
Ashcourt HR advisor Alicia Kitteridge said: “Ashcourt have been thoroughly impressed by the work ethic shown by both Jimmy and Nathan. They have already both started progressing within the company and have taken to training courses very well.
“It helped that both already had their CSCS cards so could go straight out onto our sites working within our teams. We look forward to watching both Jimmy and Nathan grow even further within our company and are excited to see where the future takes them.”
