Blackburne House is a successful and vibrant organisation that has grown from a centre of education for women to being one of the UK’s leading social enterprises. Maire Gollock and Paula Gamester, are responsible for business, education and enterprise within Blackburne House, and they want the business community to know what Blackburne House has to offer. Both Maire and Paula acknowledge that it will take time to change some of the preconceptions held about Blackburne House.
“Some people think we are a women’s refuge. And whilst we provide a lot of training and support we aren’t a refuge! Thousands of visitors, students and businesses use our services and the work we undertake enables individuals, organisations and businesses to positively impact on the local economy.”
The actual services provided are diverse and range through education and courses, business support through The Hub, conference facilities and event organisation, Design services and business start up assistance. On the site there is also a nursery and a fabulous, award-winning Cafe Bar. Construction Training aimed at women is based
here as is a calm and welcoming Spa Facility which can be hired for exclusive use.
From the beginning, Blackburne House has successfully established a number of highly acclaimed and flourishing social enterprises which continue to support our educational aims and provide tangible examples of how new markets can be used to serve local communities. Brava Design, who carry out web and graphic design are based here. They explain:
“Being a social enterprise means we invest our profits back into supporting the ongoing work of Blackburne House to develop enterprise and training opportunities for local women and we provide industry experience for women on design related courses, to help build confidence and employability.”
The work of Blackburne House has received local, national and international recognition. Claire Dove MBE DL and Chief Executive of the Blackburne House Group has been a key player in the social enterprise movement since the early 1980s. She is one of England’s Social Enterprise Ambassadors and Chair of Social Enterprise UK. She comments:
“We are proud of our achievements and have repeatedly been awarded a grade 1 status and have been ranked in the top 10% of educational providers in the country. Our pledge to all students is to offer them a high quality educational experience in beautiful surroundings”
Paula Gamester confirms that the business community can benefit from all Blackburne House has to offer:
“We can host conferences, support business start ups, provide training and all under one roof here in the city. And that is just a part of what we do. Also if you spend here you are supporting a charity that invests back into the city.”
Have a look at the website www.blackburnehouse.co.uk . Or contact Paula on 0151 709 4356. Finally they also have quite a lot of fun. Have a look at http:// /whats-on/event/valentines-with-eithne-browne/.
