West-based independent recruiter to the social housing sector BRC is celebrating its 20th birthday by partnering with Bath homeless charity Julian House.
BRC, which has offices in Bristol and Cardiff, will support the charity throughout 2019, using its knowledge of the recruitment industry to further Julian House’s ambition to help socially isolated people find work.
The team at BRC will also support the charity at fundraising events and by raising awareness of the valuable work it does, and the partnership mirrors one the Cardiff office has with The Wallich in Wales.
Paul Howe, founder and managing director of BRC, said: “Over the last 20 years we have seen the difference that good training and support have made to our staff and we want to share this knowledge.
“We see this partnership as a real opportunity to not only raise money but, where needed, help Julian House upskill some of their clients, who might be socially isolated or in need of support, and get them back into work where possible.
“The work that Julian House do every day is remarkable and we are delighted to be partnering with them this year to help them achieve even more.”
Understanding the challenges the supported housing sector faces makes the partnership with Julian House particularly relevant and the BRC team have already signed up to various events.
Cathy Adcock, area funding manager for Julian House said: “It is wonderful when any organisation supports their community, but BRC’s support for Julian House in 2019 has the potential to show how a supported housing and service provider and a recruiter in the same field can raise the bar.
“This works from both an awareness raising and fundraising perspective, while also adding value to each other’s organisations in terms of knowledge, training and skills sharing and team working.
“BRC is not just your average recruiter – staff are highly skilled, passionate about the sector and actively work in their community. Where they see a need – they want to help.
“BRC understand that the people they help to both find staff and jobs are all looking for an opportunity to change lives.”
One of the projects that BRC will be supporting is the Julian House Bike Workshops. A social enterprise set up 10 years ago, the Bike Workshops provide a wide variety of opportunities to help vulnerable individuals.
These include volunteering, courses in bike mechanics, one to one support with CV’s, finding training and securing work experience and employment and a hub for community support and engagement.
They are currently running a project to increase their capacity to refurbish more bikes. This will increase turnover and put more profits back into further social enterprise thus supporting more individuals back into work.