On Friday [December 3], Vocational Skills Solutions [VSS] celebrated the grand opening of its new training centre in Bromley By Bow, London.
VSS, a national private training provider launched in 2014, has been delivering apprenticeships to employees in the workplace and back-to-work programmes to unemployed individuals across England for several years.
The new facility, based on the Twelvetrees Business Park, is set to help local employers working with unemployed residents in the capital who are looking for work.
It adds to VSS’ growing set of hubs across its operating locations, which already cover other areas of London, Liverpool, the West Midlands, Manchester, Lancashire and Yorkshire and the Humber.
For VSS managing director, Phil Juniper [pictured], the new hub comes as the latest step in developing the business that grew from his self-discovered love of training that steered him away from a life of crime.
Juniper had ran away from home as a teenager, subsequently spending time living in temporary accommodation and dipping in and out of trouble. He later grounded himself with a spell with the Armed Forces, after which he found himself slipping back into his old ways before discovering the world of training and skills in 2003.
Now, Juniper’s mission through Vocational Skills Solutions is to reach and help those who are like he once was; the furthest away from employment - entrenched in their situation through deprivation, homelessness or economic inactivity - and help them find a better future for themselves and their families.
Juniper commented: “Here at Vocational Skills Solutions, we care about all our service users. Whether you are an employer looking to up-skill your workforce and ultimately improve your bottom line, or a disadvantaged unemployed individual looking to improve your self-confidence and find sustainable employment, we have the right solution for you.
“Career development is so important, and it has to come from a plan. It is not just about giving people the skills, but about changing their mindset. Family-wide social issues and deeply entrenched deprivation are such obstacles for people to overcome. The people we work with need to understand that there is a better life available to them and that reaching it is achievable. This new facility will help us do that on an even larger scale.”
The new VSS training centre can be found at Unit 5, Twelvetrees Business Park, Twelvetrees Crescent, Bromley By Bow, London, E3 3JQ.
