Argonaut Community Enterprises are extremely pleased to announce the success of seven staff last week, who all passed their Site Safety Plus with flying colours! We would like to thank Wates Group for their continued support, and GMCT Ltd for delivering the tailored training.
Argonaut Community Enterprises was pleased to celebrate its eighth year of operations in September and it has been an exceptionally busy one too. Through the tireless promotional efforts of the operations staff, new contracts with a major housing association and a construction company meant a welcome addition of a new member of staff and increases in the working week for current staff.
Argonaut Community Enterprises has been rebuilding the domestic arm of its cleaning operations as a strategic measure to up-skill staff to feed into standard setting before working under exacting standards in the construction field. This paid off with one member of staff achieving a Health and Safety award from a construction company he is engaged with. Congratulations.
In May we were awarded a grant for Training from Wates Giving following discussions with their Social Enterprise Champion. This has enabled us to enlist a trainer who has created a bespoke BSL-friendly course for our staff. The training will be delivered in the new year, and will hopefully serve as a blueprint for delivery of further courses for Deaf staff and students.
We were pleased to be shortlisted for the Business and Enterprise Award at the Community Inspiration Awards in July in Birmingham. We would like to thank Alphavance Creative for nominating us although we did not win the top award.
This year saw its second year in solid profit, which as a social enterprise, is ploughed back into the company for replacement of capital items, staff training and work enhancements.
Argonaut Community Enterprises continues to be busy with the garden maintenance aspect of the business with regular customers and one-off major garden makeovers. One was completed in November which involved a total clearance of rubbish, tree stump removals, landscaping, fencing work, turfing and two large patios. Well done to those involved in working in all weathers to complete before the winter!
In December we made the exciting move to our new premises in Halesowen and thanks to everyone who worked hard to make this happen. On behalf of the Board of Directors, the Managing Director wishes to express their gratitude to the staff for the sterling work over the year in all spheres of operations. The Board reserves special thanks to the Operations Manager who achieved miracles in overseeing logistics of the growing cleaning and gardening contracts, quoting, client communications and keeping control on costs with our able finance officer.
As the end of the year approaches, Argonaut Community Enterprises would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2019.
Due to the hard work and successes of 2018 we will be starting 2019 in a stronger financial position giving us more security. We are looking forward to another great year.
Over the festive period the office will close at noon on 24th December 2018 and will open on 2nd January 2019.
Wishing all our customers a very Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.
Argonaut Community Enterprises are going from strength to strength and have recently secured our first contract with Tricas Construction, who are based in the Midlands and specialise in the residential and accommodation market (http://tricas.co.uk/). Tony Winstanley, Managing Director said “We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Tricas Construction, and look forward to growing our partnership.
Argonaut Community Enterprises are excited to announce a great, new working relationship with Bromford Group. #
Mike Brickcliffe, Operations Manager at Argonaut Community Enterprises said “We’re delighted to have a new working relationship with Bromford Group, another company established locally with a passion for their local community and the people in it.”
We were delighted to have been nominated for the Business and Enterprise Award at the Community Inspiration Awards in Birmingham on Friday 6th July. The awards are organised by Community Foundation to recognise positive contributions made to local communities. In total there were over 400 nominations for all the awards and we were short-listed to the final 5 in our category. It was a great evening to recognise the impact the nominees have in their communities. Mike Brickliffe, Operations Manager, said “Everyone at Argonaut Community Enterprises is very proud to have reached the final five in the shortlist for this award. We would like to send our congratulations to the winners, Spice Leaf and runners-up Paul Street. We would like to thank Alphavance Creative for nominating us and look forward to continuing our hard work to deliver an excellent service which benefits society.”
Four further staff will be taking the test in 2018. This will increase the number of CSCS holders giving Argonaut Community Enterprises greater flexibility in allocating staff to construction sites across the Midlands.
Michael Brickliffe, Operation Manager said “Attaining the CSCS certificate is a great achievement for our staff. It demonstrates that we are committed to health and safety and that we are a genuine and trustworthy company who can provide appropriately trained staff to go on-site.”
Argonaut Community Enterprises were delighted to celebrate their seventh year of operations in September. This achievement was made more significant by the fact that it is the largest social enterprise employer of deaf and disabled people engaged in soft facilities management. This helps in a small way in reducing the 56% joblessness amongst disabled people, against 4.6% nationally.
It has been a challenging year in securing new contracts, but Argonaut Community Enterprises has been extending its operations in Coventry and the Black Country, based on its performance with current contracts. Much effort has been made to secure new contracts, but major companies appear slow to grasp the social value of incorporating Corporate Social Responsibility in their supply chains. However, Argonaut Community Enterprises looks forward to extending and consolidating its presence with current contractors.
Argonaut Community Enterprises has seen three people leave the company to pastures new. Four people have joined, three to the Operations Team, and one as a Communicator for the Operations Manager. Some of the newer members of the Operations Team are being coached in readiness for the CSCS test in the next few months. This will allow them to work within construction sites in portakabins and new build cleaning.
Financially Argonaut Community Enterprises has seen a slow, but sure growth in its turnover through the year. One major expenditure has been towards replacing costly equipment and vehicles. Argonaut Community Enterprises thanks the People’s Lottery for the purchase of a large towing trailer, which reduces the need to make frequent trips to offload garden and general waste.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, the Managing Director wishes to express their gratitude to the staff for the sterling work over the year in all spheres of operations. The Board also applaud the stewardship of the Operations Manager for managing the logistics of the cleaning and gardening contracts, communications with clients and keeping an eye on the finances. He has been ably supported by two Outreach officers who have kept up smooth financial control and website maintenance.
Over the festive period the office will close at noon on 22nd December 2017 and will open on 2nd January 2018.
Wishing all our customers a very Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.
We’re all looking forward to more successes over the final two months of 2017.
We would love the opportunity to expand our working relationships in the commercial sector, so if you would like to find out more about our services please contact us on 0121 753 5673.”
Argonaut Community Enterprises celebrated it’s 7th birthday on 10th September having been founded as a social enterprise by a group of entrepreneurial deaf people. The members of the group have long acknowledged from decades of experience how difficult it is for deaf people to get a job. Argonaut Community Enterprises was set up to help deaf people into work by providing training and employment in cleaning, gardening, painting and decorating amongst other allied work.
Over seven years the number of deaf employees have grown to a 15-strong team of very capable, loyal and willing workers. Some have moved on to other employment but most have stayed.
Argonaut Community Enterprises is part of the supply chain to a number of companies such as Wates, Torsion Group, Aspire Housing, Balfour Beatty as well as social enterprises. Argonaut Community Enterprises looks forward to securing more contracts and employing more deaf and disabled people, and people who wish to work in this field.
It’s been a spectacular summer, we’ve been so busy in all areas of work. We’ve been full-on with painting and decorating, cleaning roofs, gardening and cleaning.
Please see the before and after photos of our work, have a look on instagram @argo_photos
Tony Winstanley of Argonaut Community Enterprises said, “We’ve had a superb summer, it’s been fantastic to have had such a busy diary. We’re looking forward to keeping up the good work going into the Autumn when we’ll be busy with:-
If you would like to find out more about our services please contact us on 0121 753 5673. If the service you require isn’t listed above, please call us as we may be able to do what you need.”