In partnership with SEGRO, Groundwork South has completed another Green Skills Team Project in Slough with the most successful record to date. The Green Skills Team Project is a six-week programme in which unemployed individuals from the Slough area spend two days a week learning practical conservation skills and also attend sessions to improve their employability. The aim of this programme is to give individuals the skills necessary to go on and gain employment in the green sector.
This was the third in the current Green Skills Team programme and achieved lots of green space improvements in various locations in Slough.
Recruits for the course were found at a careers fair held at the Curve in Slough and also referred from the Slough job centre via their work coaches.
Over the course the team worked at nine different sites in Slough including parks, woodlands, grasslands, and allotments. The trainees carried out a range of work including path maintenance, bramble bashing, dead hedge construction, and rose bed maintenance. They also learnt how to use a wide variety of hand tools, and petrol tools such as brush-cutters and hedge-trimmers. In addition to this practical work experience outside, the trainees attended employability sessions where they learnt about CV and cover letter writing, interviews, networking, and workplace behaviours. This was delivered by Groundwork South in-house employability experts.
The Green Skills Team has been a massive success with all participants stating that they had a greater appreciation for the environment and an improvement on their mental health. We would like to thank SEGRO for supporting these projects, as part of its ongoing Community Investment Plan in Slough, as without its support we would not be able to facilitate these teams.
The Groundwork South Colne Valley Green Team are Steve Finn, Jessica Bampton, Jacqui Kirk and Simon Phillips. They were able to build on the experience gained from the previous green skills team in green skills team in Slough in Winter 2023/24 and before that the green skills team in Summer 2023 on Crown Meadow, to deliver an improved experience this time.
If you are interested in joining the programme, please email Jess at [email protected].
Course participants have the opportunity to gain experience on a range of hand and petrol-driven tools, including their correct use and proper maintenance.
Trainees reclaiming an over-grown potting area in Pippins Park.
Improving the entrance to Cocksherd Wood using long-reach hedge trimmer and loppers.
Part of the work at Crown Meadow involved removing a fallen tree from across a path – and having a chat!
Using branches from fallen trees to cut poles to repair a dead hedge at Crown Meadow.
Participant Testimonial
“The Green Skills Course has helped my confidence and communication skills and meeting new people and learning how to use tools properly. I realise how much I like the environment and conservation and that I could get the right skills.”
Employability: Brushcutter Qualification
Attendance was very good during the course, which eight of the original trainees completed. All eight trainees who completed the course were put forward for a City & Guilds NPTC Level 2 Award in the Safe Use of Brush-cutters and Trimmers course. This qualification will be extremely beneficial when applying for jobs in the future as many environmental organisations require their staff to use brushcutters and strimmers regularly.
Making improvements and repairs to the dead hedge at Crown Meadow that was created on a previous Green Skills course.
A celebration event was hosted by Groundwork South at the College Road Allotments in Cippenham. In total 28 corporate volunteers from both SEGRO and CBRE cleared 10 overgrown allotment plots so that they could be given to new tenants. During this event the Slough MP Tan Dhesi visited and expressed his support for the work that being done. You can learn more about the day here: Green Team reinstate Slough Allotments in partnership with SEGRO.
