These people found new jobs after being made redundant, thanks to a Leeds social enterprise scheme

A social enterprise in Leeds provides valuable support for those who thought their working lives may be over.

Two such workers have been helped in to new positions recently, thanks to a financial grant from PATH Yorkshire.

Stephen Stainforth lost his job when new owners took over the Leeds city centre hotel where he worked.

Although highly experienced, he felt, at 64, that his chances of work would be slim.

Clean Start, however, recognised the value Stephen would bring to the organisation. Clean Start was launched by Turning Lives Around, a Leeds charity with a track record of employing people on their merits.

Amanda Lister, manager for Clean Start, said: “We were set up to help our service users get back into employment, by providing a deep cleansing service. We also tackle hoarding and last year launched a decorating service to expand our services and meet customer demand.

“Increasingly landlords and customers, happy with our core services, have asked us to do trades jobs such as plastering, plumbing, and joinery; Stephen was ideal.”

The funding also helped Cassie Burgess, who worked on fibre installations for a broadband company. The pair work four days a week with a day’s training on skills such as Health and Safety.

“We hope that at the end of the six-month contract Stephen and Cassie will be able to remain with us,” added Amanda.