At The Regenda Group, creating social value is at the heart of everything we do, including the PLACED Partnership Academy which was established to ensure the regeneration of our flagship developments in Liverpool and Wirral, doesn’t stop at building great quality homes.
The new employability and skills programme is designed to engage young people in the construction, design and development of their communities.
As part of our New Ferry and Grove Street regeneration projects, local young people are exploring careers in construction and the built environment. It’s about raising aspirations and showcasing the wide range of opportunities in the sector – because there’s so much more to regeneration than simply building homes!
The Academy is a great example of how, when we work together, we can create even more opportunities for people to thrive – by transforming communities, providing new, high-quality homes and improving access to education and training.
The programme has been developed by The Regenda Group and PLACED, with funding from M&Y Maintenance and Construction. The Learning Foundry are providing employability skills and work experience opportunities and John McCall Architects and ShedKM are bringing their architectural expertise to mentor the young participants.
So far, the young people have been learning about the two regeneration projects, attending site analysis visits, building models, and learning about the role of community consultation in major developments like Grove Street and New Ferry which together will see the development of more than 370 homes.
Over the Easter school holidays, the learners will take part in an intensive design challenge, completing a task to look at their own neighbourhoods and propose how they can make them safer through design. We can’t wait to see what they come up with!
Lesley Penton, Partnership Director at The Regenda Group, said:
“At The Regenda Group, we’re passionate about providing opportunities for people and raising aspirations through education and training. The PLACED Partnership Academy is a perfect example of achieving these by working together.
“We have young people who are curious about future careers in the built environment, coming together to build skills and learning about how regeneration is more than just bricks and mortar – it’s about connecting people and place.”
Jo Harrop, PLACED Director, said:
“PLACED are thrilled to be working with The Regenda Group, M&Y Maintenance and Construction, John McCall Architects and shedKM to deliver this Partnership Academy. The programme demonstrates what can be achieved when people come together to deliver meaningful programmes for local people.
“After just a few workshops, we saw young people sharing ideas about what makes something a great place to live and producing some really high-quality work. We are looking forward to watching them develop their skills and confidence over the next few months and seeing their final ideas later in the year.”
Once participants have completed the programme, they will be invited to become part of the PLACED Alumni Network. Being part of the network means they will have access to further employability sessions, mentoring and work experience opportunities, to ensure the skills they have learned through the academy can be invested in careers they may go on to help future regeneration projects.
For more information on New Ferry regeneration: https://www.regendagroup.co.uk/regeneration/new-ferry/
For more information on M&Y: https://my-maintenance.co.uk/
For more information on The Learning Foundry: https://www.thelearningfoundry.co.uk/
