WeReBuild: Non-Profit Contracting CIC

WeReBuild

Non-profit Contracting CIC

About the founder:

Hello and thank you for visiting our Crowdfunding campaign.
My name is Mjed Kouri, and I am the founder of WeReBuild. My background is as an architectural engineer from Syria, and as a holder of a Master's degree in development from Oxford Brookes University.

My passion for the work of tradespeople started when I used to accompany my family members to construction sites as a young teenager.

 Now, I'm starting a social enterprise that will help immigrant and refugee tradespeople to join the local construction market as authorised, acknowledged professionals.

The Challenge:

Despite the shortage of local labour in the construction industry, many refugee tradespeople either struggle to access work, or work in the unregulated grey market. This means they are at risk, both of abusive labour practices, low wages and legal trouble. This limits their ability to make a name for themselves as tradespeople and thereby climb the professional and socioeconomic ladder. 

Some of the main barriers that prevent this community from joining the private construction sector formally:

• Language barriers, including specific language needs in terms of UK industry vocabulary and client interaction.
• A lack of representation by tradespeople recruitment agencies.
• For a lack of local professional credentials and demonstrable UK work experience.
• Lack of a UK portfolio of projects.

Issues to be addressed:

There is a need for a social enterprise that will:

• Protect refugee tradespeople from working in the grey market, and protect their dignity as productive professionals.
• Appreciate and take advantage of the skills they brought with them.
• Invest in them as valuable human resources.
• Develop their stand out skills, in particular when it comes to  up-cycling architectural fixtures.

Our Vision:

Considering the need for labour, and the recent raise in energy and materials prices, it's becoming more logical than ever to invest more in the human resources rather than importing raw materials.

By building the capacities of refugees who are already here and those newly arriving with skills in the UK construction domain, we can contribute to addressing labour and service shortages. Furthermore, by working with refugee tradespeople from backgrounds where up-cycling architectural fixtures is already a cultural and professional norm, we can import valuable, differentiated experience and skills to make the UK construction sector more sustainable.

Introducing WeReBuild:

WeReBuild is an initiative of a social enterprise registered as a Community Interest Company limited by guarantee operating as a contracting firm where migrant and refugee tradespeople get the opportunity to practise their professions in a non-competitive, nurturing environment. This will enable them to match their skills with local standards, and join the construction market as qualified professionals.

How is It Going to Work?

By:

• Providing a supervised, friendly work atmosphere to help the beneficiaries to practice their professions and match and grow their skills.
• Partnership 
  • with other NGOs to provide needed language support and professional qualifications.
  • with other agencies and construction firms as a subcontracting provider of diverse, qualified talent.
• Contracting maintenance works from third and private sectors as projects to work on.
• Networking to put beneficiaries in contact with private contractors through their coaches.

How your support helps us start?

Your support will help us to gain the needed tools, transportation means, and storage space to start supporting the 15 tradespeople we have already identified.
The first set of equipment will help us fulfil several paint jobs.
If we manage to stretch our funding target, we will be able to afford necessary machinery to contract for carpentry jobs, and to upcycle wooden architectural fixtures.

Having all the equipment in place means we could safely pitch for, and agree to contracts and therefore to provide clear and pre-agreed, guaranteed contracts for our beneficiaries, which means a better income security and more stability for them.

You can support WeReBuild by:

• Supporting the campaign directly, on behalf of yourself and / or your company, association or organisation
• Sharing this crowdfunding page with your networks, friends, and people who would be interested in supporting WeReBuild.
• Sharing your thoughts and ideas for partnerships and how to make our concept even better.