A SOCIAL enterprise in Huddersfield has scooped an award for its efforts to get people back to work.
Fresh Horizons, based at the Chestnut Centre, Deighton, won the Recruitment Partnership of the Year Award for its Key2Work project.
The award, organised by Yorkshire and Humber Jobcentre Plus, was presented at an event in Leeds.
Fresh Horizon’s Key2Work team offers support to people looking for work by tackling social and economic barriers to employment, issues such as generational worklessness, low self-esteem and lack of skills.
The project combined Fresh Horizon’s reputation for supporting local communities in the most disadvantaged areas of Huddersfield North to develop the skills and confidence needed to overcome obstacles to a new career.
So far, more than 300 local jobseekers have joined Key2Work.
The project kicked off last year as a partnership between Fresh Horizons, Paddock Learning Centre, Kirklees Employee Healthcare and Calderdale and Kirklees Careers.
It received funding from the Deighton and Brackenhall Initiative, Kirklees Council and regional development agency Yorkshire Forward.
Project manager Gill Underwood said: “We are absolutely delighted to receive the award.
“Our partner relationships across the locality are very important to us as they are a crucial element in enabling us to support the communities we serve.
“Given the difficult economic climate, this really is an amazing testament to the effort and hard work that everyone has contributed over the last year.
“We all have many challenges to face during the coming months as we continue our work in creating new growth opportunities within our community.
“This will serve as a wonderful reminder of what can be achieved by working together.”
Fresh Horizons, which employs 70 people, provides opportunities for learning, development and employment.
It involves people in community life by managing community facilities and organising events.
Recent initiatives included running music workshops, bringing empty flats back into use, making homes safer for the elderly and providing meeting facilities for local organisations.
