TRAINING &
APPRENTICESHIPS
Sponsored by px Group
WINNER:
THE HALO
PROJECT
Being recognised by the Tees
Businesswomen’s Awards will provide
a major boost to the women and girls
the Halo Project works with by showing
people are concerned about their plight.
That was the message from the
Middlesbrough-based charity’s Libby
Khan.
“I was hopeful because I work for Halo,
so I know all the amazing work we do,”
she said. “But we were nominated with
so many other amazing organisations
and I’m ecstatic that we won.
“It’s going to mean so much for our
survivors to know their work is not going
unnoticed and there are people out there
who do care.”
A BME-led charity, the Halo Project
supports women and girls at risk of or
suffering illegal harms including honour-
based violence, forced marriage and
female genital mutilation, offering
confidential information and advice
and reaching out into communities to
educate and inform.
It also runs “Halo Hope”, a unique
training programme to help victims
understand the impact of the abuse they
have suffered and how UK law protects
them.
“We’re going to make sure all the
fingerprints are off the trophy and then
put it up in the office and we’ll have a
little celebration with our survivors,”
added a delighted Libby.
FINALIST: FINALIST:
Cygnet Law New Directions,
Beyond Housing
Solicitors Cygnet Law offer wills
and probate, conveyancing, family
and mental health law services.
The Redcar firm works closely with
Redcar and Cleveland College to offer
apprenticeships and also has links with
Teesside University, as well as offering
work placements to local pupils looking
to forge a future in law. Sixty of Cygnet’s
65 employees are women, from director
level to administrative assistants. Funding
for courses, training, apprenticeships
and work placements is all provided by
the firm and staff are offered mentoring
from more experienced staff. Time is also
given to allow them to complete training
and courses alongside their workload.
New Directions offers advice, training
and mentoring to help young people
in Redcar and Cleveland into work. The
programme works with local employers
to understand their needs, identifying
job market trends and skill shortages.
New Directions removes barriers facing
women by offering childcare and after
school clubs and has adapted courses
to fit school pick-up times, taken
people shopping for interview and work
clothes and even partnered with local
hairdressers the Bespoke Experience,
which gives free haircuts to those
attending interviews or starting jobs. In
total it has supported 1,367 people, of
whom 690 have gone into training or
employment, including 408 females.
SPONSOR’S MESSAGE
px head of HR, Katie Woods-Ruddick said: “As a passionate
supporter of apprentices and training, px was delighted to
sponsor this category for the second year running. It was
great to hear about the work of organisations showcasing
who in particular support females in our area.
“The quality of entries in the Training and Apprenticeships
category was exceptional this year, and the Halo Project
stood out to us for providing a unique training service to
women and girls who are at risk of illegal cultural harms.
“With a vision to change attitudes and beliefs for future
generations, to break the cycle of abuse and to empower
victims to make their own choices, the training provided is
truly inspirational.”