Housing Maintenance Solutions has formed a partnership with the Princes Trust in Toxteth.

HMS have agreed to sponsor the Princes Trust programme and offer delegates on the course 2 weeks work experience throughout the year.

Our first delegate from the Princes Trust came in March.  Dean Ifill, was placed as Manager on one of our large scale site programmes.  He thoroughly enjoyed his time working for HMS and was a credit to the Princes Trust during his short time with us, so much so that HMS is endeavoring to support Dean with a further opportunity for employment.

The Princes Trust, along with Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service, have built a state of the art fire station complete with youth centre, community and sporting facilities; a fantastic place for young people to go and make a difference with their lives.  The Princes Trust programme is run out of this facility in Toxteth.

HMS is committed to assisting the communities that we work in which is demonstrated in our mission statement which states “we will invest in local communities by providing opportunities for local residents and business.”

Housing Maintenance Solutions (HMS) proudly sponsored the Liverpool City Region’s Apprenticeship Awards.

Held on 12 March at Liverpool’s St George’s Hall, HMS sponsored the Liverpool Apprentice of the Year award for 16 – 24-year-olds that was won by Annett Foldesi of Onion Deli.

The awards recognised the best apprentices and employees who give young people the opportunity to forge careers by helping them into work.

The award ceremony was part of National Apprenticeship Week created to celebrate apprenticeships and the positive impact they have on individuals, businesses and the economy.

HMS Managing Director, Paul Worthington, presented the award and said: “Annett really deserves to be named Apprentice of the Year, it is a great achievement and hopefully marks the start of many awards and a long and successful career for her."

"HMS was really keen to sponsor this category in particular because people aged between 16 and 24 are at a stage where apprenticeships can shape their lives and let them build really fulfilling careers."

“The awards, the winners and all those shortlisted showed just how much potential there is in the Liverpool City Region, something employees like HMS are very keen to support."

“Training people, giving them access to more opportunities to develop and ultimately helping them into work, is one of our key priorities.”

Last year, HMS gave apprenticeships to six young people with roles in a multitude of skilled trades.

A further five multi-trade apprenticeships will be offered in 2013/14. HMS will be launching the apprenticeship recruitment drive early this summer.

Housing Maintenance Solutions (HMS) has launched 'Try a Trade' where we will visit a number of Merseyside schools and enable children to 'Try a Trade'.

HMS in partnership with Liverpool Mutual Homes (LMH) held a construction taster session for 13 and 14 year olds starting at Broadgreen International School.

The event gave youngsters the opportunity to try their hand at tiling, joinery, plumbing, gas and electrical work. HMS created purpose built stands for the event to showcase each trade and encourage greater interaction with pupils.

Five of our operatives were on hand to demonstrate basic skills, talk to them about their jobs and answer questions.

HMS and LMH are following the practical workshop with classroom-based sessions giving pupils an insight into construction and housing careers in both trade and office roles.

HMS Managing Director, Paul Worthington, said: "The pupils really enjoyed trying their hand at various trades and learning some useful life skills such as changing plugs, doing some tiling and basic plumbing.

It is vital we develop partnerships with local Liverpool schools and give youngsters the opportunity to try trades and help develop their careers whether that be on-site jobs or office-related work.

Year nine students are at a stage in their education where they have to choose subjects with a view of a career path so the sessions are a great way of allowing them to have a go and offer professional insight into the industry to see if construction is for them."

HMS will host the event at four other schools throughout the year across the Merseyside region.

As part of the company's continued focus on improving services and business efficiency, HMS’s new Learning and Development Manager, Caroline Ramsden, has secured NVQ training in Business Administration and also ICT for HMS staff.

Managers within HMS have been undergoing an intensive Management Development programme, ‘Evolution’, which started in May of this year and will continue over the next 16 months.  Learning opportunities like the NVQs above fit perfectly with our succession planning strategy and will give staff the opportunity to develop their skills for the long term benefit of customers.

HMS Managing Director, Paul Worthington, commented, “Caroline will be a fantastic asset to the company and will bring a measure of co-ordination and focus to the great progress we have already made. She has a wealth of knowledge and experience that will enhance the delivery of our learning and development objectives”.

Caroline is working with teams to develop individual learning plans tailored to their needs whilst focusing on continuous corporate improvement.