The voluntary Board of Directors have invested two and a half-years of hard work as an unincorporated group in developing over twenty-one projects which include private businesses as well as social enterprises in addition to achieving incorporated status of Company Limited by Guarantee in 2005 followed by registered charitable status in March 2006. Since August 2005, the Company has:

• established strong links and have been working closely with local secondary schools and employers to provide work-related extended placements for young people in the ‘not in employment, education or training’ (NEET) category;
  
  
• secured funding to operate the Extended Work Placement Project including the appointment of a Placement Broker to identify appropriate placements; support, monitor and evaluate the young people involved;
  
  
• established a successful Enterprise in Education Project which receives support from a wide range of stakeholders from the statutory, voluntary and private sectors in developing enterprise initiatives within the area’s local schools, for example, a school bank, financial literacy programme, arts/media/production training, an economic map, a youth employment agency;
  
  
• hosted a successful Enterprise Conference-Workshop, entitled: ‘Leaving School with a Business’, in March 2006 with delegates drawn from the education, employment, youth, community and business sectors. The focus was to explore the possibility and potential of establishing incubation centres in schools. The next stage of this process will involve the preparation and submission of a bid to the DfES, Regional Development Agency and other relevant bodies to enable this project to come to fruition.
  
  
• commissioned local feasibility study in the areas of Recycling and Procurement; the recommendations of these are now being acted upon.