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Ian
Wilson 'Wheels for Work'Ian Wilson from Horden in Easington has recently turned his successful forklift truck-training centre into a social enterprise called 'Wheels for Work' with the aim of helping as many local people back to work as possible. County Durham Foundation awarded Ian a grant of over £900 for his forklift truck training and certification that made all this possible.
Two years ago 33-year-old Ian was a self-employed driving instructor
who was failing to make even a minimum wage and struggling to provide for
his family. At this point Ian made the decision to do something about his
situation and undertook a forklift truck instructor's course.
Once qualified Ian, who has always had an interest in helping others, took
the opportunity to not only improve his own situation but also to help other
people in a similar situation to himself. As a result after completing his
training, Ian set up a successful forklift truck-training centre in Horden.
He has used profits generated by the business to increase the training programmes
offered and also to reduce the cost of training to unemployed people in the
Northeast.
Ian has now developed the training centre into a social enterprise called
'Wheels for Work'. He has used any profits generated by the business to increase
the training programmes offered and also to reduce the cost of training to
unemployed people in the area.
Ian explained, 'The cycle of unemployment is certainly something I can relate to, when I was down I received the help I needed to pick myself up. Now I just want to give more people the kind of chance I've been given.'
County Durham Foundation supported Ian when others turned him away by paying for his forklift instructor training. Without this funding, he doubts he would have been able to pull himself out of the situation he and his family had found themselves in.
'There's just no way I would have been able to get this far without the grant from County Durham Foundation. They had faith in me and gave me support when I needed it most.'
To date Wheels for Work has provided training for 182 people and a staggering
80% of these people have gone on to paid employment as a result.
