A new employment academy is to be set up in south London dedicated to helping hundreds of homeless people find employment.

The Thames Reach charity, which works with rough sleepers across the capital, will involve former homeless people in building the centre.

Thames Reach hopes the new Academy will help to reduce the number of people sleeping rough in the capital by helping homeless people develop new skills, increase their self-confidence and find work, in turn enabling them to settle into their new homes – reducing abandonments, evictions and returns to street
homelessness.

The Academy will provide a range of services for men and women living in homeless hostels and supported housing projects, and to people living in the local community who need help to increase their skills and find a job. It is estimated that 150 people will be making use of the facilities every day.

The project is possible as a result of a £4 million capital grant from the Department for Communities and Local Government via the Places of Change Programme. It will be situated in either the London borough of Lambeth or the London Borough of Southwark.

Jeremy Swain, Thames Reach Chief Executive, said: “The Employment Academy will provide a range of innovative services to help homeless and vulnerable people get back into work, including a range of social businesses, classroom space, and a restaurant where the workforce will predominantly be made up of homeless people.

“The Employment Academy represents a shared commitment to helping people escape homelessness by developing the skills, confidence and motivation to get work and shake off for good the debilitating shackles of long-term worklessness.”