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November 2006
> Derwent & Solway Awarded for Excellence
Derwent & Solway Housing Association has today been honoured for ‘Excellence in Skills Development’ at the prestigious UK Housing Awards, for its involvement in the Routes to Work initiative, which is helping people across West Cumbria back into employment.
The award ceremony was held at the Hilton Hotel, Park Lane London and was organised by the Chartered Institute of Housing to celebrate excellence throughout the whole of the housing sector.
Robert Porter, Director of Derwent & Solway said of receiving the accolade:
“As you can imagine we are absolutely thrilled. We were up against some extremely tough competition and so to win the award is a wonderful testament to the difference that Routes to Work is making to the lives of many people here in West Cumbria. ”
Routes to Work is delivered by D&S in partnership with Allerdale Borough Council and Rathbone Training to capitalise on the recent retail and construction opportunities in the area.
Robert Porter adds:
“This award means so much to all the partners involved. We are all delighted this has been recognised nationally and it shows how far we have come since the early days.”
Since 2005, over 1000 people have been helped into work by the programme with 90% of Routes to Work graduates moving into sustainable employment.
Routes to Work tailors training and re-training programmes to the needs of each individual working with other agencies to help people overcome personal barriers such as drug or alcohol dependency which may have become a barrier to employment.
In the ‘Excellence for Skills Development’ category, D & S were up against Wales & West Housing Association, North Lanarkshire Council, East Thames, and Thomas Vale Construction plc.