A new partnership between Quickline and South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation is set to boost employment opportunities in the region, building on the success of a previous skills programme for young people.
The altnet provider is investing in a new ‘QFutures Community Fund’ with South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation (SYCF), and this collaboration forms a key element of Quickline’s extensive social values programme which the company has committed to as part of Project Gigabit.
SYCF will award grants to projects and organisations addressing unemployment amongst the 30+ age category in the Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield areas.
Further support from Quickline will help to continue SYCF’s successful Moving On Up pilot programme launched three years ago, that helps improve employability and skills of young people in South Yorkshire aged 30 and under.
SYCF is the largest grant giving charity in South Yorkshire and in the last year awarded £1.7m to more than 400 groups across the region.
Michelle Dickinson, Head of Philanthropy and Programmes for SYCF, said: “Working together with Quickline will build on the success of our Moving On Up programme by providing even more opportunities to connect people with businesses by helping remover barriers to employment.”
SYCF’s Moving On Up (MOU) programme was launched following the Community Foundation’s 2021 Vital Signs research report, which highlighted employment and employability as a priority for people in South Yorkshire.
To date, the multi-year grants programme has awarded almost £300,000 to 24 groups and organisations across the region.
Image shows (L-R): Jess O’Neill, Grants and Partnership Manager at SYCF; Michelle Dickinson, Head of Philanthropy and Programmes at SYCF; Julie Holmes, Social Value Manager at QL and Elisabeth Kamaris, Social Value Executive at SYCF
