This Friday (10th May) is the deadline to apply for the Chief Executive’s job at one of the most prominent community enterprises in Uist (see Uist Beò video). Set up over 30 years ago, Cothrom has a learning centre, an all Gaelic nursery and a recycling/upcycling centre, all in purpose built locally designed buildings.
So if you are looking for an inspiring and rewarding job, that is also diverse and challenging, then why not think of Cothrom? Some 200 learners attend the centre every year, and it has employed 20+ staff for many years now. With its deep commitment and understanding of the local community, Cothrom delivers diverse services that seek to provide integrated and holistic support tailored to the needs of each individual learner, by addressing educational, social, economic, financial and housing needs, mental and physical health, childcare, as well as environmental challenges. Services range from Scottish vocational qualifications to addiction and homelessness support.
You will be part of the vibrant community sector in Uist which won the first Social Enterprise Place Award to be granted within Scotland (see here), and work closely with local businesses and public sector agencies. And you will be delivering on so many Scottish Government priorities, including enployability, delivering holistic family support and tackling child poverty, empowering communities and addressing depopulation (see CoDeL’s casestudy on Cothrom here).
“We have a focus on those with complex learning barriers, like young school leavers and parents looking to enter/re-enter employment. The best way to explain our approach is through case studies. One example is a young man who joined us in January 2023 having moved to the island and then subsequently finding himself homeless following a family fall out. Within the hour staff had accessed temporary accommodation through our partner network; within 48 hours he had permanent accommodation, staff applied for crisis grants so he could purchase white goods, we completed an application for the hardship furniture fund and delivered it to his new home. He was unemployed and wanted to work in construction, so we enrolled him on our Practical Skills course alongside supporting him to gain his Construction Health and Safety and CSCS card (needed to work on sites). We then contacted local companies and managed to find him employment. He is still in employment and is now self sufficient with his income allowing him to have a higher quality of life.”
Kevin Morrison, current Chief Executive, Cothrom
To find out more about Cothrom, see the following:
- CoDeL’s casestudy of Cothrom, with lots of detail
- Uist Beò’s story about the current Chief Executive
- The recent Uist Beò video to promote the exciting job opportunity for the Chief Executive of Cothrom.
We thank all our partners, and the funder Scottish Rural Network, in this project on “Community Actions in Uist & Glenkens”. The views expressed in this blog post are our own.
“With the additional funding under this community action project, we have developed a bespoke parent focussed return to work programme and use our on-site nursery to provide funded childcare while parents study. The programme is in place to support parents to apply for higher skilled jobs that will increase household income and bring more families out of poverty.” Kevin Morrison
