A FENLAND building company has joined forces with Fenland District Council to help young offenders get their lives back on track.

Foster Property Maintenance Ltd (FPM Ltd) held its first Trade Taster Day for a young offenders group from Wisbech, March and surrounding villages.

Seven 15 to 18-year-olds took part in the day, which was organised in partnership with Fenland District Council (FDC).

The main aims of the day were to improve attendees’ perceptions of work by showing them how they could fit into a real workplace, identify a career goal they would like to reach and help them plan their next steps to reach this goal.

During the day, the attendees met recently qualified plumbing apprentice Ben Pooley, who is also a nominee for Apprentice of the Year at the Fenland Enterprise Business Awards (FEBA).

The attendees also visited one of the company’s new build housing sites in Parson Drove, where they saw various trades at work and experienced a live building site.

Representatives from the College of West Anglia spoke about the courses on offer there.

Steven Foster, FPM managing director, said: “We are committed to employing local people, including apprentices and trainees.

“This kind of initiative raises awareness by helping demonstrate that there are opportunities out there and employers are willing to invest in people and in training them.

“We are already in discussions with FDC about an ongoing programme for different groups going forward.”

Councillor Chris Seaton, Fenland District Council’s deputy leader, said: “Providing the support and inspiration for young people to move into training and employment is a very important priority for the council.

“We are immensely grateful for the support we received from Foster’s to help some of our most disadvantaged young people make positive changes to their lives.”