News

Nominations for three FutureIN apprentices at Cambridge Independent Business Awards

07/10/2024

The work of FutureIN, and the dedication and commitment of three of its apprentices was celebrated at the Cambridge Independent Business Awards 2024 at the end of September with nominations in the ‘Social Enterprise of the Year’ and ‘Trainee / Apprentice of the Year’ award categories.  

FutureIN, a locally focused programme provides training and apprenticeship opportunities within the construction sector for young people who may be homeless, at risk of homelessness, vulnerable or facing other challenges.

With over 135,000 homeless young people nationwide, Cambridge, although a highly successful city, is also highly polarised with a stark contrast between wealth and inequality. Driven by the desire to close this gap, individuals from Howard Group, Morgan Sindall, Urban & Civic and YMCA Trinity initiated FutureIN. FutureIN is managed by TrAC - a not-for-profit Flexi Job Apprenticeship Agency registered with the government - and supported by organisations including, New Meaning, Groundworks East, It Takes a City Community Land Trust and DWP.

In addition to providing apprenticeship pathways FutureIN also includes pre-apprenticeship training and work experience designed to prepare a young person for work in the construction industry. Access to affordable accommodation schemes and individualised wrap-around support, including pastoral care, ensure as stable an environment as possible for the trainees both during and after their engagement with FutureIN.

Not only does the programme support vulnerable young people, but it also brings the Cambridge property and construction community together to offer the trainees and apprentices a stable and independent future, create a more inclusive industry and address the growing shortages of skilled construction workers

 

Jeffrey Seidu, Kieren Boak and Christopher Boak were nominated by TrAC within the ‘Trainee / Apprentice of the Year’ award category having all demonstrated great commitment and enthusiasm throughout their time with FutureIN. Of the three, Jeffrey was named runner-up and highly commended by the judging panel.

Speaking after the awards, held at King’s College, Cambridge, Nicholas Bewes, CEO, Howard Group, said: "Many congratulations to Jeffrey Seidu on his commendation in the Apprentice of the Year category. He continues to be a real inspiration across the industry, and especially amongst the FutureIN apprentices. Well done also to both Christopher Boak and Kieran Boak on being nominated for this award. We are proud of what they have all achieved and look forward to following their future progress as they build their careers.   

I am delighted that FutureIN and the hard work and dedication of those that run the programme day-to-day continues to be acknowledged across our community and the construction industry. By continuing to work together we can ensure that these young people become beneficiaries and contributors to the continued success of Cambridge, rather than the unhappy consequences of the inequality created by that success.

“Our challenge to the Cambridge community now is to employ at least one FutureIN apprentice on every construction site across the city. The benefits of this are wide-reaching; offering exciting and stable career pathways to our young people whilst also addressing the need for a skilled workforce to deliver the number of significant developments now currently underway across the region.”

Bob Ensch, Project Lead, FutureIN added: "On behalf of the FutureIN team, we are proud of what both FutureIN and our apprentices are achieving. Whilst we didn’t come away with the Social Enterprise of the year award, we were delighted with the recognition from the judging panel. We congratulate Abbey People on their well-deserved award and acknowledge the valuable work that they do improving lives within the Abbey community. 

“I also want to acknowledge the partnership of several developers and contractors who pledge support to the young people on the programme. I sincerely hope that as awareness of FutureIN grows so does the community of construction partners willing to step up and make space for additional FutureIN apprentices and trainees on their teams.”

To find out more about FutureIN and how to get involved, please visit: https://www.futurein.org.uk/

 

Contact Us

Howard Group
93 Regent Street
Cambridge
CB2 1AW
01223 312 910

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