Building4Hope - our latest Happiness Fund winners
Building4Hope is a training centre with a difference. It gives marginalised 16-25-year-olds construction skills and life skills and puts them on the path to further training or employment with a 90 per cent success rate.
We are thrilled to announce that this charity is the latest recipient of a £5,000 Happiness Fund grant.
Building4Hope is based in the West Midlands and was set up in 2017 by founder Kevin Byrne, who had worked in the construction and training sector for over 30 years. He realised that conventional training courses at local colleges were not suitable for all students, particularly those who did not have the correct entry qualifications or who came from challenging backgrounds. Classed as Not in Education, Employment or Training, these NEETs were being let down by the education system.
Building4Hopes takes these young people who seemingly have no prospects, nurtures them, helps them with fundamental life skills and teaches them skills that enable them to go on to employment or further training.
Building4Hope spokesperson Tom Benson explains: “Our young people need additional help that a standard college will not provide and who do better with one-to-one support. Often, before we even start the construction qualification, we help them with basic maths, English and life skills.”
As an accredited training centre, Building4Hope gets student referrals from job centres and local authorities.
“All our students leave with a CSCS card, which is the main certification for working on building sites safely and legally. We have other qualifications too in skills such as carpentry and bricklaying,” adds Tom.
The Happiness Grant will allow the charity to buy cordless power tools for students to use.
“Cordless tools will help us utilise the space we have a lot better,” says Tom. “And when these young people go out and work on building sites, generally the standard is that people work with cordless tools, so having experience gives them more confidence.”
The difference that Building4Hope makes is immense. The blend of pastoral care and skills training provided allows students to make the transition into work and further training, building self-esteem and happiness.
