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The Renaissance Consortium is celebrating winning two national Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) Academy Awards for its apprentice scheme in Miles Platting, east Manchester.
In addition, the Miles Platting apprentice programme beat all the other award winners - including housing associations, regeneration organisations and developers - to take the overall Co-operative Award for Excellence at the awards ceremony held at the Roundhouse, north London.
Since its launch in August 2007, the Renaissance apprenticeship scheme has provided employment for 18 locally recruited trainees working on the Miles Platting housing regeneration scheme. The regeneration programme is being carried out by the Renaissance Consortium - which is made up of Lovell, Adactus Housing Association and Investors in the Community - on behalf of Manchester City Council and New East Manchester.
The HCA judging panel described the Miles Platting apprentice training programme as "as excellent project demonstrating an innovative approach to staff recruitment and training through the use of apprenticeships".
Gill Taylor, Chair of the judges, commented: "The particular success of this project was down to the intensive one-to-one support it offers the young apprentices; a model which offers considerable lessons for other projects."
The Co-operative Group, which chose the Miles Platting scheme for its excellence award, said Renaissance had "succeeded in going above and beyond its contractual obligations, resulting in a scheme that was having a demonstrable impact on the local community".
"To win these two national awards is a tremendous achievement which recognises the success of the apprentice training programme and the life-changing benefits it has brought about for so many of the young people involved," said Lovell People Development Manager Bruce Boughton. "This is a huge tribute to the hard work of everyone involved, most importantly, the apprentices themselves as well as the people who support them and manage their training. It is also an important reminder that this kind of high-quality training programme has a positive effect on the whole community."
(CD/JM)
