A group of our ambitious young foyer residents gathered to take part in a Business Challenge Day, inspired by Dragons' Den.
Organised by independent charity The Mitie Foundation, the day gave our foyer residents the opportunity to engage with local businesses, to help increase their employability skills.
It’s an accredited course and all attendees got a certificate for achieving Level One Employability.
Freya Beer who's lived at our Springboard Foyer in Rochester for a year explained that the event expanded her working horizons:
“It’s been really helpful. I do work already and am in the catering industry, but we’ve learnt more about what it’s like in the working world.”
Freya will live at the foyer for another year and hopes to move into one of our other homes in Rochester.
Marcela Stipakova also attended the event and said “I moved into Endeavour Foyer about three weeks ago. I’ve learnt a lot from doing the course today, because I chose to study business and tourism at college. I can speak five languages and hope to be an interpreter one day.”
Speaking about the foyer as a whole Marcela added: “The support officers here are really helpful, I pay a bit of extra money to my rent each month and that means I’ll get it back when I leave here to use as a deposit for somewhere else.”
Our foyers provide a safe place for young people to live, learn and make the transition to independent adulthood.
They offer a ‘something for something deal’ for young people between the ages of 16-25 who are in housing need. They offer personal development and other services to help young people reconnect with learning, increase their employability, improve their health and wellbeing and develop their leadership potential.
Marcia George, Assistant Foyer Manager said: “It was great to see our residents enjoying themselves at the workshop, whilst enhancing their employability skills. Each resident has a dedicated support officer who works through their support plan with them. The workshop will help towards them achieving those goals.”
The event was arranged and lead by the Mitie Foundation, which supports people into employment by breaking down barriers.
James Kidby, Employment Manager at the Mitie Foundation said: “The main purpose of the day was for the young people to create an idea, a project or service, go through the relevant processes and then present that to the group. It’s about helping them to look different sectors like finance and marketing, whilst building on their presenting and time management skills. We support people of all backgrounds to support them towards improved career chances.”
