Calico honoured for helping residents into work

Calico Enterprise has been awarded a trophy by Active Lancashire for working with Lancashire residents and helping 170 of them into work.

Calico is part of the More Positive Together and MTP Steps projects across Burnley, Pendle, Lancaster and Morecambe.

MPT Steps and More Positive Together were Lancashire partnership projects, managed by the charity Active Lancashire alongside 20 delivery partners based across the county, including Calico Enterprise. Other delivery partners included local councils, charities, employment hubs, Youth Zones and more.

In 2020, Calico Enterprise began delivering the More Positive Together project in Lancashire which works with people with complex needs, helping them to overcome barriers to employment such as childcare issues.

Calico Enterprise also delivered the MPT Steps project, which began in 2022 and helped people who had work experience but needed support to get back into the jobs market.

The projects provided a variety of employment skills to support individuals throughout the recruitment process from building an affective CV to improving interview skills. Emotional support was also provided by Calico Enterprise to help with motivation and confidence.

Funded by the European Social Fund, both projects came to an end at the end of 2023, but Calico Enterprise are continuing to work to create jobs as part of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Calico Enterprise is the lead provider for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in Burnley leading a group of seven partners to support economically inactive people to improve their skills and employment.

Calico Enterprise continues to deliver skills and employability support in Lancaster and Morecambe as part of the UK’s Shared Prosperity Fund.

Sam Howarth, head of enterprise at Calico Enterprise, said: ‘It is great to be recognised for the positive impact and great work of our team in supporting people to remove barriers to employment.

"Although the More Positive Together projects have come to an end, we continue to provide much needed employability support to people as provider of the UK’s Shared Prosperity Fund." 

Sarah Dunne, who led on MPT Steps for Active Lancashire, said: "Calico Enterprise deserve recognition for all their work supporting people into employment through these projects.

"Alongside helping people into work, these partnership projects boosted the skills and confidence of 9,500 people across the county. It is a strong example of how our combined efforts help us activate Lancashire."