A PROJECT which helps young people facing complex barriers into work has been given a cash injection.
Miss Macaroon received £10,000 from National Highway’s Community Legacy Fund – a team behind the M42 junction 6 scheme – which aims to give back to local communities by creating positive change through its work.
The investment for Macaroons that Make A Difference (MacsMAD) has enabled the creation of a dedicated training space at Miss Macaroon’s Resorts World Birmingham store.
The new space will support an additional 21 training placements over the next 36 months and will combine practical skills training with mental health support, one-to-one counselling and post-programme mentoring.
Rosie Ginday, chief executive of Miss Macaroon, said: “With a brighter, better-equipped setting, our MacsMAD trainees can build confidence, learn new skills and feel proud to be part of a social enterprise that invests in their future.
“We are hugely grateful to National Highways, whose generous support made this refurbishment possible.”
The project will also help to build confidence and improve wellbeing for young people living in communities surrounding the M42 J6 scheme area, including Chelmsley Wood, Shard End, Lea Hall, Yardley and Solihull.
National Highways project manager on the M42 Junction 6 scheme, Adam Gallis, said: “MacsMAD is a fantastic initiative that supports people facing complex barriers into employment and we’re delighted to be able to support it.
“By expanding the training space, this project unlocks access to high-quality training for communities who previously faced travel barriers. It’s a great example of how social value funding can deliver long-lasting benefits for local people.”
The junction 6 improvement is a nationally significant scheme that has tackled one of the region’s worst traffic bottlenecks, with the new A4545 dual carriageway providing direct access from the newly-built junction 5a to Birmingham Airport, Birmingham Business Park, the National Exhibition Centre and the A45 towards Birmingham city centre.
