Ten Stories: Wrapping up a Decade of Impact

This past year has been nothing short of extraordinary as we celebrated our tenth anniversary. From January 1st to October 23rd, we have shared with you inspiring stories about our past and present, which has led us to this moment. We have also shared with you ten stories, one a month to highlight something about our journey, including stories about partnerships, impact, fundraising activities, case studies and becoming a multi-award-winning charity. For our tenth story, we are focusing on our Decade of Impact.

On Wednesday 23rd October, we hosted a Gala Dinner event at Drapers Hall and it was a truly extraordinary evening. We welcomed guests, sponsors, entertainers and partners who came and supported us. Their contributions helped us mark ten incredible years of empowering veterans and serivce leavers and continue to drive the life-changing work we do. We are so pleased to say that the event has raised nearly £20,000, which all proceeds will be used to support more of our former military community to access barrier free training and employment support.

In particular we would like to thank Lovell, Vistry Group, Wickes TradePro, Annington and The Builders’ Conference Trade Association as sponsors for the event. We'd also like to thank our Board of Trustees for their support, including our Chairman Richard H Tucker MBE. We must also thank the incredible team of staff at Drapers Hall - you were all fantastic and attentive.

This special event was one to remember, filled with inspiring stories from our cohorts and graduates, recognition of our incredible supporters and a look back at our positive impact in ten years.

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On top of marking our tenth anniversary and celebrating a number of of award nominations and notable wins this year, we are also delighted to share that we have just celebrated our 3,500th graduate! Of these graduates, historical behaviours indicate that 73% of individuals will enter employment, self-employment within the construction industry or further training. We wish them all the best.

To end this celebration, we have taken the time to reflect and think about what our future holds and where we want to be in the next decade. As we continue to grow, we are already seeing our 2025 cohorts fill up fast and we plan to continue expanding across the UK with our academy partners, helping to broaden career prospects and raise awareness among our military community about the diverse opportunities within the construction industry.