Meridian Upholstery case study
The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 27
“ Hundreds of County Durham businesses are already benefiting from our young people”
DurhamWorks Supporting Employers
Meridian Upholstery case study
Hundreds of employers in and around County Durham have been realising the benefits of working with young people- thanks to the support provided through Durham County Council’ s partnership project, DurhamWorks.
DurhamWorks helps unemployed 16-24 years old living in County Durham into jobs, training or education and has a team of six business advisors working across all areas of County Durham to support businesses that have a desire to bring young people into the workforce.
The advisors can offer a free, tailored package of support and signposting to ensure all barriers are removed and support is available to any employer who is considering recruiting a DurhamWorks young person.
Advisors can help with a range of activities including managing the recruitment process, pre-screening candidates, HR advice, in work support and staff training.
Bespoke training can be arranged for DurhamWorks young people to ensure they have the skills required to thrive in your business. The business advisors have access to a range of support for employers including a flexible fund to help support young people into employment.
Meridian Upholstery specialise in high quality reupholsting and bespoke furniture manufacturing for the domestic and contract markets. The company are growing fast, expanding into more contract work, but needed to expand their team too. DurhamWorks helped to secure them the employee they needed.
Meridian, who are based on Aycliffe Business Park, were helped by DurhamWorks Business Advisor, Lynne Groves to employ a Business Administration Apprentice, so that existing staff could focus on their own job roles.
Lynne helped Meridian, who had no experience of employing a young person, through the recruitment process, helping to match the company with 16 year old Ebonie and helping the company to access funding of over £ 2,000 to support her in her new role.
The business has seen an increase in productivity since Ebonie joined the team and are now able to handle their everincreasing workload more efficiently.
Accounts / office manager Lindsay Fodden said“ DurhamWorks have been fantastic in the help and support they have given us. We would not have been able to take on a young person so successfully without them. I would recommend them to any other employers thinking about taking on a young person.”
If you’ d like support to help your business grow, contact DurhamWorks today to see how we can help expand your workforce.
For more information visit www. durhamworks. info / employers or call today on 03000 262 930.