David Lett

Co-founder, New Meaning

“Helping young people figure out how they’re going to earn their own living is the only reason we exist,” explains David Lett, 53, from Stewkley in Bucks, co-founder of social enterprise New Meaning.

The training business offers a construction skills course, through which 16 to 24-year-olds are given workplace experience on their sites. So far, 12 graduates from their Toolshed course have been employed on traineeships – and two of their best decorators have themselves become trainers, gaining a teaching qualification in the process.

“There’s no one better to teach young people who have had a bit of a rough time in school than people who pass the course who also had a rough time at school,” according to

Lett. “It works well.”

It’s a win-win situation for employers such as Lett and for the young trainees.

“We get new talent, new capability, a modern vibe

[and] an understanding of new trends,” he adds.