London,
17
May
2016
|
11:32
Europe/London

TOP FOOTBALL STARS PLEDGE SUPPORT FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND URGE MORE BUSINESSES TO HELP LONDON'S NEXT GENERATION

Football stars Mark Noble and Bobby Zamora joined a group of young Londoners and a host of business leaders to celebrate the successful partnership between CBRE and charity London Youth.

The project has seen 10 staff from all parts of CBRE’s UK business supporting London Youth’s award winning Build-it programme, using their property and business experience to help 18-25 year olds gain the experience, training, skills and support they need to progress into construction careers.

Build-it has helped hundreds of young people from South London to find jobs and further education by giving them the opportunity to work with developers and construction. The team from CBRE began supporting the project in January 2015 and in the past 18 months have helped many young people gain work experience and day to day knowledge of construction sites across London. The CBRE team has also helped with vital business planning and partnership development. The partnership came about through Beyond Me, an organisation that links business professionals with charities in London and beyond.

Phil Kerry, Programmes Director at London Youth said:

“The partnership with CBRE has provided huge value to London Youth. Not only have the team helped directly to find opportunities for young people, but they’ve also given us the benefit of their skills in business planning, project management and other vital disciplines.

“We work hard to ensure that Build-it offers great opportunities to young people not only to gain skills, but also increase their confidence and resilience – and we do the same thing through our broader work with youth clubs all over the capital. We’re really grateful to CBRE, Beyond Me and to Mark and Bobby for giving us their time and support. Build-it already enjoys some fantastic support from Willmott Dixon, Mears, Hyde Housing and Berkeley Homes, so the link with CBRE has been another real boost.”

At the event the footballers talked to the young people about their careers and what had been the things that had helped them succeed. All had been influenced in some way by great role models and mentors, which youth workers and youth clubs can provide.

They also talked about Legacy, a new initiative they are launching which aims to offer development schemes for Local Authorities to reduce the pressure on affordable housing, local community services and empower tenants through onsite community and sporting facilities.

Mark Noble and Bobby Zamora commented:

“On behalf of Legacy, we really enjoyed meeting a host of young Londoners and hearing about their aspirations for the future and their genuine enthusiasm about the built environment. We hope that through programmes like London Youth’s Build-it, and our own work with Legacy, we can encourage more young people to consider careers in this exciting profession.”

 

 

Lorna Walker, CBRE Director and BeyondMe co-team leader:
“As part of CBRE’s extensive corporate responsibility programme, the BeyondMe platform is an invaluable scheme which has enabled us to support London Youth’s Build-it programme and make a real difference. I would like to encourage other companies to get involved in the scheme, from the property world and beyond. We are extremely grateful to Bobby and Mark for supporting the event and offering inspiration to some of our youth.”
Lorna Walker, CBRE Director and BeyondMe co-team leader: