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Junior Hanslip, a resident of Lambeth Living, recently joined Mears, after 4 weeks' ‘work ready’ training at the Lambeth Skills Academy. Junior was one of the many young people who are not in education, training or employment, until he applied to the academy to get skilled-up for work.The programme was started by Mears in partnership with Lambeth Living and supported by Lambeth Council . It is designed to help unemployed Lambeth residents develop skills, as well as helping those who are ready to work find employment.Junior is very excited to start working at Mears, and his first job involves fitting new bathrooms for Greenwich Council. He was referred to Lambeth Skills Academy by local charity Tomorrow’s People, where he had been working as a builder’s labourer, until March, when he started at the academy.With training from the academy, Junior qualified for a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card, which provides proof that individuals working on construction sites have the required training and qualifications.Junior said: “With the training to get a CSCS card and the asbestos training, I can work on-sites. I have just painted my own place, I was going to pay someone to come and do two days’ work, but I wanted the practice.” Mears Training Manager, Gary Lewis, said: “Junior was a natural mentor to his team-mates. He worked well on external projects and was always on time. You never see Junior without a smile on his face.”According to Linda Oginni, Employability Co-ordinator, from Lambeth Living’s Welfare Solutions Team, “Lambeth Living is committed to working in partnership with local employers to help find employment, training and volunteering opportunities for residents. We're delighted to see Junior graduate from the Skills Academy straight into employment.”Junior is focused on what he wants to do next. He said: “Plan A is to get qualified as a plumber, maybe one day I’ll start my own business – but I’m happy to learn though multi-trade work, and Mears offers a good development package.”"What I’ve learned is that you can’t just sit there and think ‘it’ll happen for me’. If there’s something you want to do, aim for that goal, and take the steps.”