Helm works with over 80 companies from across Dundee who kindly provide work placements and support for our young people. On Thursday 1st December, Helm held its first Employer Awards Reception at the V&A to thank them for their ongoing help.
Four awards were presented in total recognising organisations that have gone above and beyond for Helm.
Highest Number of Placements Award
The first Award of the evening was presented to the organisation that has offered the highest number of placements to Helm’s young people during the last 18 months and Mini Monkeys, a nursery school based in Dundee was the winner in this category.
Helm recognises that in busy organisations, making time to support young people on placements can sometimes be challenging. For that reason, we recognised Mini Monkeys for their support offering placements to 9 young people during the past 18 months.
During the ceremony, we also highlighted Mini Monkeys’ commitment to trying to offer to employment where possible after young people after they have completed their placement which is particularly appreciated by Helm.
Individual Contribution Award
The second Award of the evening was an Award dedicated to recognising an individual rather than an organisation. The Award recognised an individual who Helm has identified as personally going the extra mile for young people while there are on placement.
This year, the winner was the winner was Irving Miskell-Reid from Freedom Hairdressing. At the ceremony, we recognised that Irving provided outstanding support for young people while they were on placement at Freedom Hairdressing, working with four young people during the past 18 months. He has shown an outstanding commitment to help build both young people’s skills and their confidence while on placement. He has even reached out and worked directly with the families or carers of young people to provide a wrap around support that has helped ensure that the young people get the most out of their time on placement.
Longest Supporter Award
For our third Award and during our 40th birthday celebration year, we recognised the company that we have worked with the longest and we’re delighted to announce that the winner of this category was Fareshare.
Additionally, when presenting this Award, we highlighted that we were particularly pleased to be recognising an organisation who have prioritised the welfare of the young people who have attended placements with them. They have gone above and beyond with the support they have provided. Young people who have attended placements have particularly commented on how supported and helped they have felt during their time with the organisation.
Outstanding Commitment Award
The final Award of the evening was Helm’s first ever ‘Outstanding Commitment Award’. This Award went to an organisation that has provided an outstanding commitment to supporting and nurturing young people while on placement.
We’re delighted to announce that this year we recognised CJ Lang who have spent many hours creating and implementing a training programme specifically for Helm’s young people. Young people who go to CJ Lang are given the opportunity to work within every team at the company to give them a wide understanding of the industry and to gain lots of different experiences which are useful to them as they start seeking employment.
During the last week of their placement, young people spend time in the HR department developing their CVs and working on their interview techniques giving them invaluable skills they need as they progress into applying for jobs.
Additionally, we recognised when presenting this Award that Helm and CJ Lang have worked together to successfully secure grant funding so that all young people attending placements are offered free lunches throughout their 10 week placement.
Ally Calder, CEO, says: “The evening was a tremendous success and Helm is delighted to recognise four organisations that have provided significant support to us over the past 18 months. We recognise that these are challenging and uncertain times and for organisations to go above and beyond to support our young people by offering placements is incredibly valuable to the charity. All of our employer partners are appreciated and we’d welcome new companies getting in touch with us to find out how they can get involved in Helm moving forward.”