Environmental project helps students acquire new skills with funding from business lender

Young people from a special educational needs school have gained valuable employability skills thanks to a work experience project supported by business lender UKSE.

Students aged between 13 and 16 from Bow Street School in Bilston built up practical employability skills that they can take into the workplace through a project run by environmental charity Groundwork West Midlands and funded by UKSE.

The social impact funder, which works with companies across the West Midlands, has supported Groundwork to help students regenerate an area at Bilston Urban Village Nature Reserve to develop skills through hands-on work experience.

The project involved eight sessions at the nature reserve, each with six to 10 students in attendance. Pupils took part in a range of activities including vegetation removal, litter picking, small tree works and wildflower seed sowing.

The sessions were run by Groundwork community project officers and provided students with an increased knowledge of the environment together with practical skills to manage outdoor spaces that they can use in the workplace.

Providing strategic loan and equity packages of up to £1m to generate growth, create local job opportunities and bolster the economy, UKSE’s local team based in Cannock supports SMEs across Birmingham, the Black Country, Coventry, Staffordshire and Telford.

UKSE regional executive Mike Lowe said: “It has been great to see the young people develop valuable life and practical skills that will benefit them in the future.

“UKSE’s main aim is to help businesses to grow and prosper for the benefit of the community, and this project with Groundwork has really brought this ethos to life.”

UKSE is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Steel UK Limited with a mission to enable and encourage businesses and the people behind them to create jobs, grow and prosper, within communities affected by current or historic changes in the steel industry and its jobs.

Located near the Black Country Route, Bilston Urban Village Nature Reserve is a greenspace owned by the Land Trust that is managed in partnership with Groundwork West Midlands.

Clare Harper, head teacher at Bow Street School, said: “The students have done a terrific job of improving the nature reserve for the local community. It has been amazing to see their confidence grow as they have completed the work.

“The project has given the pupils a real sense of accomplishment and helped them develop new skills that they can take back to school and into future employment.”

UKSE supports the local economy by making equity investments, ensuring management stays in control of the business, and offers a flexible exit policy. Unsecured loans up to £200,000 are also available, often without the need for personal guarantees.

UKSE provides investment in a range of scenarios including business acquisitions, management buyouts, company expansions or the purchase of new equipment. Since it was established in 1975, UKSE has invested over £115m, supporting 8,000 businesses, stimulating the creation of an estimated 83,000 new jobs.

Pictured: UKSE’s Mike Lowe (centre) and Steve Grice (second right) with Tom Beardmore and Melissa Underwood and teachers and students from Bow Street School