Turning the tide on unemployment

Alan Thirtle loves his job on the Thames Tideway Tunnel project but says he never would have got there without the help of H&F’s WorkZone.

Alan, a former painter and decorator, is based at the Carnwath Road Riverside works site in Fulham, driving a van there and at other Tideway sites in West London.

“I love it,” said Alan of Sands End. “I had always been a painter and decorator but thought it was time for a change.”

“I’ve been driving all my life and I’m really grateful to have been given the opportunity to go on the course for free,” he said. “I’m over the moon with the job and it’s only a short walk from my house.”

When Alan found himself unemployed he was directed to a course created by H&F WorkZone. The two-week course run by City of Westminster College gave Alan the qualifications he needed and the chance to meet his employer.

Hammersmith & Fulham Council funds the courses and other schemes to get people into work by using money which is negotiated from developers when they are granted planning permission.