Water company announces it will tackle causes of poverty
YOUNG PEOPLE AMONG THOSE WHOM INITIATIVE WILL HELP
A WATER company that serves the region has announced plans to help tackle the underlying causes of poverty in a landmark scheme designed to help up to 100,000 people find employment, while supporting them to reach their potential.
With households facing the most acute cost of living pressures in decades, Severn Trent has launched a partnership programme to help address these challenges.
As well as specific locations, the programme will help individuals most in need of support, in particular young people not in education, employment, or training (NEETS), along with re-entrants to the workforce and people looking to explore a new career path.
Research shows young people who do not undertake work experience whilst at school are six times less likely to go into meaningful employment when they leave school, with that figure rising in areas of deprivation.
This new programme builds on Severn Trent’s existing support for individuals who are struggling to pay their water bill.
The Big Difference scheme received an additional £30m funding in May 2022, and has this year supported 20,000 customers save up to 90 per cent off their bill.
The threshold for accessing this scheme has now been changed to help even more customers, and in total, Severn Trent is aiming to support 315,000 of its most vulnerable customers by 2025.
Over the next 10 years, Severn Trent will establish partnerships with schools to deliver a work experience programme set to benefit 300 young people by the end of August 2023, which will increase to 500 a year by 2032.
The water company will also work with other organisations to understand and remove the barriers that could prevent children undertaking work experience – such as affordability and transport.
Severn Trent is also committing to giving 10,000 hours of free skills training and employability training in communities and schools to support individuals into their first job, or back into work.
In addition, Severn Trent will embed themselves directly within communities through pop-up learning and support hubs, which will take over unused retail spaces and community hubs, to offer a range of workshops and advice, supporting both employment and affordable bills starting in East Birmingham. By 2024 it will have aimed to have engaged 5,000 individuals across its broader region.
Neil Morrison, HR director of Severn Trent, said: “We understand the challenges that so many people are facing across our region, which is why we are invested in supporting the communities we serve – whether it’s through our £10million Community Fund or the additional £30million fund we have pledged to support customers right now. Today we are proud to build on existing work and announce the next step in supporting communities for the long term.
“As a large employer with eight million customers across the Midlands, we are passionate about helping households across the region. We know that this ten-year plan is a huge undertaking, but we are focused on delivering long lasting change and will achieve this by working closely with communities and partner organisations.”
Emma Clancy, chief executive of CCW, said: “We’re delighted to see Severn Trent working collaboratively with other organisations to tackle the underlying causes of poverty in its region. This really builds on the contribution the company is already making to provide financial support to households that cannot afford their water bills.”
The work will begin in East Birmingham, with plans to move the work to Derby in 2023, and then other parts of the Midlands which would benefit from the short and long term support.