A donation from a local charity is helping young people at
Bedford Foyer to improve their future employment prospects.
bpha has received £16,475 from The Bedford Charity (The Harpur Trust) to pay
for a dedicated Training and Referral Support Co-ordinator. The Co-ordinator
will help young people to access further training courses and attend
appointments with them if they lack confidence. The role will also include
building relationships with recruitment agencies and training providers in the
local area.
Helen Murfitt, Training and Grants Manager at Bedford Foyer
said: “After losing some of our funding, we were no longer able to offer
in-house training and needed a new way to offer this service to our residents. Thanks
to The Bedford Charity we have been able to continue this function. The Charity
has been a long-standing supporter of the Foyer and the projects that we run,
and we are very grateful for their generosity.”
The Training and Referral Support Co-ordinator will provide
advice and guidance for young people not currently accessing education,
training or employment and those who are struggling to maintain attendance.
Although the role will not provide in-house accredited training, it will
provide support to go out to appointments, improve confidence and intervene at
an early stage if young people are struggling. The Training and Referral
Support Co-ordinator will also makes links with training providers in the local
area to put together a local directory which our staff and other services
working with young people can use for reference.
The Bedford Charity supports projects that promote education
and social welfare in the Bedford area. bpha applied for funding in October and
received the £16,475 grant funding. Prior to this, in January 2010 the Foyer was
awarded funding from the Charity to help fund several core courses that the
Foyer provides. Before that, in 2009, the Foyer received funding and support from
the Charity to pay for staff to receive training to recognise the first signs
of mental illness in residents.
Peta Frost, Grants Officer with The Bedford Charity (The
Harpur Trust), said “We are pleased to continue our support for the Bedford
Foyer, which we feel provides a vital service to vulnerable young people in
Bedford. We hope the funding will enable more young people to participate in
training and education to overcome any disadvantage they may be facing”.