Shaw Trust is a charity in the UK which helps disabled and disadvantaged people into employment and independent living. It was formed in the village of Shaw in Wiltshire in 1982. Shaw Trust has been a registered charity since 1982, and is one of the country's largest third-sector providers of employment services for people with a disability or at disadvantage. The charity employs nearly 1,600 people at over 200 locations. They are supported by over 600 volunteers and deliver contracts for major funding agencies including the European Social Fund, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Big Lottery Fund.
Areas of work
The Trust delivers both mainstream and specialist employment support schemes across Britain. The charity helps people gain skills and find work via a wide range of activities including education and skills contracts, 49 shops and a national volunteering programme as well as health and social enterprise projects. Shaw Trust helps people gain qualifications through specialised programmes, and helps people seeking work through support in job search skills, interview practice and practical help to enter employment. Shaw Trust is also an Approved Sponsor for Academies, and sponsors the Shaw Education Trust.
Community enterprises and projects
Shaw Trust runs a range of enterprises and projects – many of which are open to the public – across sectors including catering, recycling and horticulture. These initiatives are firmly embedded in the local communities and provide clients with a broad range of learning and skills development as well as employment opportunities. People taking part benefit from a range of initiatives including accredited on-site training, work experience and employment, supervisory roles and core learning such as numeracy, literacy and IT skills. Horticulture In 2010/11 the horticulture social enterprises provided employment and training opportunities for over 1000 young people and adults with challenging barriers to employment. Locations include:
Wood recycling Shaw Trust offers wood recycling services at Scadbury Park, Chislehurst, South London. Manufacturing Shaw Trust Industries is a factory run as a social enterprise by the Trust. They manufacture the following products:
Food services Shaw Trust has catering services ranging from cafes to a 'tuck by truck' snack delivery business.
Shops
Shaw Trust has 49 charity shops across England and Wales, stocking a wide range of items that have been donated for resale. All shops are staffed by volunteers and Shaw Trust staff. The income raised from shops goes to projects that support disabled and disadvantaged people in local communities. Their shops also help develop clients’ employability skills through work experience and work placements. They provide a safe and supportive environment for clients to develop confidence, learning and skills.
Shaw Education Trust
In 2014, the Department for Education awarded Approved Sponsor of Academy status to the Trust. A multi-academy trust, Shaw Education Trust, was created to support special schools and mainstream schools serving disadvantaged communities.
Since January 2010, the NOMS European Social Fund Co-financing programme has been working with offenders across England. National Offender Management Service is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice, which brings together the Probation Service and Prison Service. A key objective for NOMS is the reduction of re-offending. In 2015, the government announced the outcome of the latest NOMS tender opportunities to work with offenders. Shaw Trust formed an alliance with Crime Reduction Initiatives for a number of the tender opportunities and will work with offenders in the East of England, London, West Midlands, North East and the South West.
Mergers
Careers Development Group
The Careers Development Group was a workfare organisation and Work Programme provider in the United Kingdom. Pursuing a goal of providing a helping hand to needy and jobless people, Careers Development Group had been working for over three decades. According to their records, in 2011/12, the organization helped over 30,000 people into jobs. As well as their work programme, young people from South London had been getting support from the organization in job placement in social and charity enterprises. CDG group advocated: "A society in which everyone has the opportunity for employment, inclusion and independence". Hence, CDG not only provided jobs but also prepared people by imparting training for better placements. Their charity work included support for those with disabilities, health problems and lack of experience. In 2012, CDG merged with Shaw Trust.
