Bryson’s new contract and branding
Bryson ‘steps’ forward with new contract and brand name
Bryson Charitable Group, a Northern Ireland leading social enterprise, has announced that its training and employment division, North City Training, has won a major contract from the Department for Employment and Learning (DEL). Bryson has also unveiled the new brand name and logo for the training and employment division which will be rolled out over the next few months.
New ‘Steps to Work’ Contract
North City Training Ltd was awarded the contract to manage and deliver the ‘Steps to Work’ Programme in South and East Belfast by DEL in June of this year. This new contract adds to its existing provision of DEL’s flagship adult training programme in North Belfast and Newtownabbey. The organisation also delivers ‘Training for Success’ and ‘Apprenticeships NI’ on behalf of DEL and manages two European Social Fund Projects aimed at young people who are in the NEET category (not in employment, education or training) and those unemployed and aged 50+.
This new contract will see the Bryson Group grow further with staff increasing to over 650 employees across Northern Ireland and County Donegal and turnover in excess of £30 million. This positions Bryson in the top 2 per cent of Northern Ireland companies and it is the 6th largest social enterprise across the UK in the recent (June/July 2011) RBS survey.
North City Training faced tough competition during the competitive tendering process from a range of local, national and international providers of training and employment to win this contract. The contract cements the continued growth of North City Training, which has doubled in size over the last four years.
Liam McNeill, Director of North City Training said: “We are delighted to have won the contract to manage the Steps to Work Programme in South and East Belfast. We are now the largest provider of the Programme across the city and we will now help over 5,000 people each year to achieve their potential.
“We firmly believe in improving people’s skills and supporting them to find suitable employment, particularly in this current economic climate. This Programme is vital in assisting people who are unemployed to gain new skills and work experience with employers leading to employment. We believe our strength lies in our ability to flexibly deliver training and support to meet individual needs using our social enterprise model.”
There are two key strands to the work delivered:
Work Skills Development
“I found the course enjoyable and loved my placement. After completing the course I got a job and North City Training continued with their support.”
Leanne Crow, trainee
Through specific tailor-made training programmes, North City Training helped 2,679 clients over the last year. By improving and developing their skills, each programme is designed to help young people and school leavers find their career path and to enable older people to explore new avenues of employment.
Finding a Job
“My partnership with North City Training has proven to be a great success. Their support through all aspects of recruitment and mentoring during the process is a huge benefit to both me and the participants. I would recommend this service to any organisation looking to recruit new staff.”
Manager from Curry’s store
North City Training is committed to helping their clients find employment and is focused on working closely with major employers to provide work placements. This partnership has proved to be very successful and a large number of clients have secured full-time or part-time work following their placements.
Employer partners include organisations from the community, voluntary, public and private sectors.
New logo and visual identity
Bryson has revealed the new brand identity for North City Training that will take effect over the next few months. The social business unit will be rebranded as Bryson FutureSkills. Bryson Group undertook a strategic review of all its social business units to maximise the impact of its strong brand. The time is now right to introduce the new brand and logo which places North City Training at the centre of the Bryson Group brand.
To find out more please log onto www.brysongroup.org
