Groundwork London has received £30,000 to train unemployed people in repairing domestic appliances to be sold by charities.
The charity’s REWORK project restores furniture and white goods at one of the UK’s best-equipped domestic appliance repair workshops. Through the project, items that would be sent to landfill are returned to full working order and given a new lease of life.
The workshop, based at the Smugglers Way waste transfer station in Wandsworth, employs people who have been on long-term job seekers allowance and trains them in electrical engineering and maintenance.
Last year, the project’s 29 paid trainees refurbished and sold over 4,500 domestic appliances and 2,700 items of furniture. The repaired items are then provided for resale through charity shops in London and across the country.
London Freemason, David Lawrence, visited the project to see the apprentices in action:
“We’re very pleased to be able to support this excellent scheme which provides practical training for long-term unemployed people, helps the environment and provides a cheap source of refurbished appliance for charities to sell.”
Ben Coles, director at Groundwork London, said:
“We’re very grateful to London Freemasons for their generous grant which will help us continue giving people the skills to find jobs in the capital’s growing retrofit sector. The project is a great example of Groundwork London tackling unemployment while protecting the environment.”
Groundwork London
Groundwork London is a social and environmental regeneration charity that works with communities across the UK. The charity supports them to create better places, live and work in a greener, more sustainable way and to improve their economic prospects.