CONTACTCONTACTWe have been busy investing in our communities and supporting people into employment and apprenticeships. This year we spent £8.5m through local supply chains and partnered with the Workers’ Educational Association to deliver over 693 hours of free training to support residents into work.
Here, we share some of our achievements from the past year.
In February we partnered with social mobility charity, upReach, to support university students from low socio-economic backgrounds in securing work placements and internships. Through our support, one student has secured an Industrial Placement with our colleagues at Exterior Architecture.
To mark National Apprenticeship Week, we collaborated with Careers Hub East to host a series of industry insight talks to inspire young people to pursue a career within this dynamic and technologically advanced industry. Our colleagues at Kanda and Exterior Architecture talked to students about creative pathways within the Built Environment including architecture and public relations. The virtual events were open to over 80 schools across 9 boroughs (Enfield, Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Havering, Barking & Dagenham, Newham, Greenwich, Bexley, and Bromley).
In March we delivered a sustainability workshop at the University of East London Career Insights Day for Y10 pupils from Willowfield School in Waltham Forest and Hornchurch High in Essex. The event was organised by London Careers Hubs which connects schools and colleges with employers so that young people are aware of the career pathways and opportunities available to them. This is the first time London Square has worked in partnership with UEL’s schools and colleges outreach team to deliver an inspiring insight event which delves into the world of housebuilding.
In August we piloted a Sustainability in Construction pre-employment course for Islington residents. The training programme provided high value social impact by targeting women, ex-offenders, and under-represented groups. Delivered in partnership with Peabody and The Skills Centre, the course has been designed to address the skills shortages facing the Built Environment particularly in the interiors and green skills sectors.
In November we attended the London Schools’ Climate Kick-Start Challenge – a city wide programme focused on encouraging students into green careers to respond to the growing demand for skills in retrofit, renewable energy, green finance and electric transport.
Throughout the day, we facilitated a series of sustainability workshops that explored architecture, design, modular building methods and engineering, to highlight the types of skills and qualifications young people will need for a rewarding career in the Built Environment.
Funded by the GLA, and supported by the Mayor of London, Let’s Go Zero 2030 and Bloomberg L.P, the event brought together over 40 major employers and learning providers and one thousand students from 30 schools in East and South-East London to explore green job and learning opportunities that are set to boom in London in the next 20 to 30 years.
To round off the year, we made a financial contribution to ‘Peabody Elves’ Toy & Food Appeal to help ease the financial pressure on some of the most vulnerable households and ensuring that as many children as possible receive a gift this Christmas.
We’re passionate about our community activities and look forward to making a greater impact in 2023!
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