Social Enterprise
Our Aim
The aim of this wholly owned trading subsidiary of Embrace is to be the practical manifestation of Embrace Cooperation Ltd. We will make ESE Ltd. a place where young adults and already qualified professionals work together, learn from one another, overcome challenges and further our - and their - personal and professional goals. The projects we already have initiated will help Embrace and the people it serves to be making a contribution for a more sustainable world that we all share and need to take care of.
Teddy’s Story
I am Teddy, short for Tedros, and I was born in Eritrea. I am 19 years old and had to flee my home country because I was put in prison there for my religion. Back home my family owns a little business where I was doing small jobs and customer service. Since I came to London 3 years ago I have been most of the times unemployed except for one month, when I worked as a cleaner. Last year some friends of mine told me about the PRESTO project from Embrace. My English was not that good then, but Embrace gave me the chance to gain work experience and confidence. I started a work placement as a handyman for construction. It was great and I really learned a lot. Now I am studying part-time for an NVQ in construction at Lewisham College. I am also working part-time for Embrace Social Enterprises in their Home Improvement project where I get to do practical work in carpentry and painting and decorating. I like this work and my colleagues who are from Germany, Jamaica and also from the UK. My plan is to finish my NVQ and to work as carpenter full-time.”
Background
We started Embrace Social Enterprises Ltd. (non-profit making) on 20th September 2006. We established it during our PRESTO partnerships project working with young refugees (www.prestopartnership.org.uk). We found that it was a challenge for young adults interested in construction to gain work experience. We started it as a fully independent business doing market research, preparing a business plan, getting our marketing done, buying tools and a car and getting a workshop / storage space. Our first projects were to refurbish flats/ houses where we worked with trained and qualified craftsmen and allocated young adults to them who wanted to gain work experience. This worked really well as we were able to carry our jobs within painting & decorating, flooring & tiling, gardening & landscaping as well as general handy men jobs. The young adults gain work experience and the qualified craftsmen ensure the work is done to standard and in the time specified. Since inception we have managed 4 houses and flats in multiple occupancy. We also facilitated research on renewable energies, which has now let to the creation of the Renewable Energy Specialists project, funded by the European Commission. The research looked at the provision of training to potential installers of renewable technology (plumbers, electricians, heating and ventilation specialists). We found that there is a need for holistic and practical training for vocational professionals. We developed a proposal together with UK and EU partners to bring an innovative, holistic and practical training scheme to the UK and implement it here to benefit potential installers and in the long-term also young adults out of work.
Contact us for a free quote
Please give us your name and specify what you would like to have done by our team and what your ideal timeframe is. We can supply building materials and always give you the best deal we get. You can also source your own materials and we come and do the work to your specification. Looking forward to hearing from you!
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