Partner Article

Transport mission for social enterprise

A social enterprise is hoping to roll out its innovative approach to community transport across the region. Adapt North East is using funding from One NorthEast to bring together community transport schemes in the North East to explore new ways of making their schemes sustainable and more efficient.

With support from Jobcentre Plus, the Hexham-based charity piloted a training scheme in 2005 to move people from long-term unemployment in Northumberland into jobs as minibus drivers.

Liz Prudhoe, General Manager at Adapt, said: “Our pilot was very successful in making sure we’re using our vehicles to their full potential, and gave us the chance to create sustainable jobs in this area, helping people to develop their skills and get back into work.

“Community transport is enormously important in helping people access services and employment, and we want to make schemes in North East England as effective as possible.”

Adapt now hopes the approach can be used regionally, to help develop and sustain community transport services and to tap into the resource of people who have been unemployed long-term.

One North East’s Economic Inclusion Manager, Robin Beveridge, said: “The region’s aim of getting another 70,000 people into work by 2016 simply can’t be achieved without input from the third sector. “Charities, community groups and social enterprises like Adapt are ideally placed to try new ways of helping people get involved with the economy, whatever their age, sex, background or circumstances, experimenting with new approaches to help people overcome those things which can prevent them from working.

“Adapt has a big challenge to bring together community transport schemes across the region, but the results could be very exciting.”

Adapt’s project will culminate in a regional community transport conference later this year.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .