Skills Training & Education Creative Hub

The environment

We used fruit crates from church street market as storage for tools and equipments, office stationery, haberdashery; threads, scissors, pins, cushions, fabric off-cuts from local companies and fashion circularity; recycling/up cycling of garments by reconstructing from the market and fabrics from church street market.

The local economy

This group of beneficiaries have achieved Level 1 certificate at the end of the program and can then progress onto Level 2 qualification, secured functional and employability skills relevant to the industry. Empowerment programme through employment or self-employment or as a cluster - start up and run their own businesses by making their own samples/product to market. Westminster Market Team agreed to provide 2 stalls at Church Street Market for us and also looking at some pop-up unit on Church Street for our cluster group and access to apprenticeships or job outcomes. We’ve already set-up social enterprise, a local clothes alterations and repair service run by our former student in Church Street market as well as offering Made-To-Measure and order service by one of our experienced tailoring tutors. with the Social Investment Business to finance our recycling fashion; old clothes recycling, upcycling, customisation and turning scraps and off-cut fabrics into clothes. Pop-up shop to sell garments, soft toys and soft furnishing such as table matts and cushion covers etc. Our current learners are also participated at thePitch Ready Event organised by Westminster Markets Development Team to run a pop-up Market Stall on the Event 14th March 2023, at the Westminster Cathedral Piazza

Volunteering, jobs & education

As a community interest group, WEPT was very delighted to support and run 2 projects in Level 1 Certificate Industrial Machining for 8 local beneficiaries in 2022 and Certificate in fashion and textiles for 13 local beneficiaries in March 2023. The 2 projects of over 3 months each, introduced groups of women from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds to the technical and creative aspect of fashion garment construction. Delivered free-to-access course for learners to take advantage of participating in our program and the opportunity to learn to undertake professional qualification from SEG (Skills & Education Group). By linking technical and practical skills with creative skills in a way that encouraged and appealed to a broad range of learners on the projects.

Arts, culture & heritage

Westminster Cathedral Piazza Market and Exhibition The WEPT-WES (Westminster Employment Services) group of 13 Westminster resident learners showcased their products. The event not only celebrated the achievement of these women that have experienced adversity to learning new skills to produce garments not only for themselves but also soft furnishing and soft toys for the market with very little or no sewing experience. The event provided our learners with market and retail experience as part of our self-employment package and WEPT partnering with the Westminster Education Service offered employability skills and support for the learners

Activity, health and leisure

The project promoted widely through the local job centres, local meetings, email, Facebook, internet/social media, leaflets/posters in libraries, schools/colleges, churches, Mosques, Community centres, local festivals and the Church Street Neighbourhood organisations, Charities, monthly Events newsletter and what’s on calendar, local festivals, partners website, Westminster Employment Services network, One Westminster platform and social media platforms and Westminster Council e-newsletter and through word of mouth in the community.