Orangebox Training Solutions has landed three significant funding contracts that should give 1,000 people employment opportunities across the north.

The Hartlepool training provider has new agreements with New College Durham, Darlington College and PeoplePlus, which are fully funded by the Government’s adult education budget.

The contracts create opportunities for residents across the region - spanning North of the Tyne, County Durham, Wearside, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire - to gain long term sustained employment.

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From Bedlington to Bradford, Spennymoor to Scarborough and Whitley Bay to Wakefield, Orangebox will work with its network of employers and recruitment agencies to get more people into work.

CEO Simon Corbett said: “The contracts are for those aged 19-plus and are in place to upskill unemployed learners to then provide openings they may not have had.

“We work with a number of employers and agencies who work with a long list of clients such as Amazon, Tesco, Saga, Sigma, Staffline, Hayes Travel, One Below and Woven – and plenty more.

“We are always open to new partnerships with employers.

“The whole idea behind our offer is to help as many people as possible by removing barriers that will enable them to gain employment.”

Orangebox has an impressive success rate since it was formed nearly six years ago.

It aims to get around 75 per cent of its learners into employment and guarantees every learner a job interview who completes a pre-employment course through the Hartlepool Marina-based firm.

There is a long line of satisfied learners who have ended up in a job - like Kimberley Blyth. After completing a Level 1 Certificate in Occupational Studies, she learned new interview techniques and customer service knowledge with tutor Mark France – and was provided with a laptop for the training.

She successfully impressed during an interview with Woven – which supports brands such as Vauxhall and Vue with their customer service - and has worked with that company ever since.

Simon said: “We love hearing stories like this and we hear them all of the time.

“We want everyone to know we are here to help and we will do what we can to get people ready for work or get those who have lost their jobs back into work.

“We are giving people the skills they need to get them into employment through our clients or here at Orangebox in many areas across the North-East and beyond.”