Patron News

OPENING DOORS,

KICKSTARTING CAREERS

Unlocking practical employment and skills building opportunities across Liverpool not only provides sustainable pathways for local communities to recover from the tremors of Covid-19; they represent a critical strand of responsible business and – most important of all – really change lives.

For growth and regeneration group Torus, the North West’s largest provider of affordable homes, 2021/22 was a milestone financial year for jobs and job-ready training.

Having helped almost 500 people into work in 2020/21 (many of whom faced significant employment barriers), financial year-end results for 2021/22 confirm that the group’s charity, Torus Foundation, more than doubled its impacts, with over 1,000 people engaged making a successful step into the job market.

Numbers tell only part of the story. Torus Foundation is not an employment agency; it provides practical, tailored packages of support for Torus tenants and wider communities – a personfocused approach that responds to individual issues and aspirations, and covers a spectrum of initiatives, including employment.

One is the Government’s Kickstart Scheme, which targets 16 to 24 year olds on Universal Credit. With young people facing severe work challenges through Covid-19, Torus Foundation signed up as a ‘gateway’ organisation in 2020 to help deliver the six-month (25 hours a week) placements, as well as free additional skills and CV-building support. To date, the Foundation has enabled 64 Kickstart placements with organisations including HMS, Torus and Raise. Out of the 25 placements that have ended, 22 have gone straight into employment and the other 3 are being supported into other positions.

And the breadth of the Torus family means that a placement or apprenticeship enabled by Torus Foundation can become the catalyst for a successful career in construction at the group’s contracting entity, HMS.

One of the city’s largest commercial contractors (annual turnover: £100m), HMS has been delivering quality, community-focused activities across Liverpool for over a decade – and generated over £20m for reinvestment into meaningful social projects. Torus’ operating model is a ‘virtuous circle’, anchored to Liverpool and North West communities, making impacts that extend beyond housing.

In addition to currently hosting 37 apprenticeships, HMS has 24 Kickstart trainees: 10 are part of its ‘green space team’ – grounds maintenance teams that revamp community green spaces and vulnerable tenants’ gardens; four are Business Administrators and 10 are General Construction operatives learning multiple trade skills, including their Fork Lift Truck License.

Whether it’s Kickstart, Women in Construction or another employment initiative, participants generally improve massively as they work closely with Torus Foundation and group mentors – typical outcomes include new skills, significantly improved communication abilities and increased confidence.

Take Molly, for example. Molly went from Women in Construction into an Apprentice Electrician role with HMS. “HMS and Torus Foundation gave me the confidence to try new things and explore my options in construction,” she explains. “I would recommend the programme to anyone as it really has opened doors I didn’t know were available to me and put my career on a path I never expected, but love!”

Fellow Apprentice Mia adds, “I have enjoyed learning new things and pushing myself to overcome new challenges. I have also really enjoyed meeting new people and feel privileged to be learning from professionals and to be delivering an excellent service to the community we serve.”

For Torus, responsible business means collaborating closely with localities to create the homes, communities and workforce of the future. On a human level, outcomes inspire on a daily basis. As one Torus Foundation mentor put it, “Give a person with not much experience a chance, as it can have amazing outcomes for them and enable them to grow and develop so much.”