Explore wienerberger’s partnership with the National House Project to empower young people leaving care.
Supporting young care leavers into careers in the construction industry
wienerberger are pleased to partner with the National House Project (NHP) to support young care leavers into careers into the construction industry.
NHP is an award-winning charity dedicated to ensuring young people leave care well and thrive. Since 2015 they have worked with over 950 young people, with 530 successfully moving onto their first home.
wienerberger, as part of their Social Impact Strategy, are supporting NHP with bursary monies to provide support for young people to access a wide range of construction careers including plumbing and bricklaying. The funds can be utilised to support with tools, clothing or cost of living expenses.
Mark Warr CEO from NHP comments; “The House Project approach is holistic and whilst the offer of having their own accommodation is what draws young people in, they have repeatedly told us that being in work and being able to manage their finances is what makes the difference to the quality of their lives. Supporting young people to be work ready, providing them with opportunities that genuinely interest them, and supporting them financially and emotionally makes a real difference. Doing this in partnership with Wienerberger not only improves the quality of our offer but means that we can deliver on our commitments to more young people.”
Launched in early 2025 the bursary has supported four young people so far ranging from funding an electrical training course, obtaining a CSCS card, purchasing painting and decorating tools to set up a business and support for clothing and equipment to work as a labourer.
Salman, aged 21 from Manchester, benefitted from the fund; “My dream is to own my own electrical company one day and so far, I have been working towards this by completing a course in college…”. He adds; “I currently support myself and my course fees by working part-time for an electrical company. While this helps, I still have to carefully manage my finances to cover everything. At times, I’ve had to use some of my benefits to contribute toward my fees, which can leave me short for essentials like food and rent. However, I’m committed to completing my training and gaining the qualifications I need to advance in my career” .
Sarah Nurton, Social Impact Manager from wienerberger says; “This partnership aligns with our social impact purpose of tackling homelessness whilst also nurturing the skills to help our industry thrive.” She adds; “Alongside the bursary our teams have undertaken volunteering opportunities with Local House Projects and we have plans to run insight into industry sessions later this year. We’re excited to see how this partnership will develop and positively impact young care leavers”.
Care leavers are disproportionately affected by homelessness, with over 4,000 young care leavers aged 18–20 facing homelessness in 2024. According to Government statistics on statutory homelessness in England (2023/24), this figure has increased by 54% in five years and is 15 times greater than the rise in homelessness among all young people in England.
Care leavers also face significant challenges in employment. The same government report highlights that 39% of care leavers aged 19–21 are not in education, employment, or training (NEET), compared to just 13% of all 19–21-year-olds in the general population.