Leon Hope, 28 from Town End Farm, has now started full time employment as a trainee customer experience coordinator with RE:GEN North East.
Having recently been made redundant, Leon signed up to our three-week Skills Bootcamp, to explore different career paths and meet with different employers from within the construction industry.
“Being made redundant isn’t easy, especially with a family to support,” said Leon.
“I found RE:GEN Academy just at the right time. With my family’s support, for the first time in my life I’ve been able to find something that I’m passionate about doing, and a place where I really feel like myself.
“As soon as I sat through a presentation about what it means to be a customer experience coordinator, I knew it was for me. I want to help people and I love to talk! I couldn’t have imagined being here a few months ago, and I’m now at the start of what I know is going to be a life changing career for me and my family.”
Through our employer-led initiatives, our skills bootcamps equips individuals with the skills demanded by the North East construction sector, supporting real career growth and addressing industry-wide skill shortages.
They offer a mix of classroom-based learning, real-life work experience and practical sessions held in its workshop area at its dedicated Skills Centre in Southwick.
This latest Skills Bootcamp, held in partnership with Education Partnership North East (EPNE) in collaboration with Gentoo, specifically targeted unemployed individuals aged 19 and over in Sunderland.
Managing Director of RE:GEN Academy, Tom Lamb, said: “We are helping businesses find the best talent the North East has to offer.
“Leon is a fantastic example of the real difference we are making to local people across the region. We’re providing a route to gain new skills, boost confidence and provide genuine opportunities to gain full time employment through the links we have with local businesses.
“And for the businesses that partner with us, our bootcamps are fully funded which means they don’t pay for the pre-employment training of new trainees and apprentices.”
Jonathan Horner, Managing Director of RE:GEN North East, emphasised the academy’s pivotal role in talent acquisition and industry sustainability: “RE:GEN Academy has been integral to our business growth since our inception a little over three years ago.
“With a significant proportion of our workforce comprising trainees and apprentices, of which 75% have been recruited through the Academy, we recognise its invaluable contribution to future proofing our own workforce, as well as those of our supply chain and wider industry partners too.”
Funding for RE:GEN Academy Skills Bootcamps is made possible through EPNE, the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (NELEP) and North of Tyne Combined Authority.
Michael McKie, Head of External Funding and Contracts for EPNE, said: “Through EPNE and RE:GEN Academy collaborating on the delivery of Wave 4 Funded Skills Bootcamps, funded by the DfE and NELEP, we are proud that our partnership has delivered real benefits to local residents, resulting in over 30 people securing sustainable employment in green construction and building retrofit jobs to date.”
