A Penzance charity that helps local people overcome barriers to work, wellbeing and equality has been awarded £1.35m of funding to further its award-winning work.

Trelya will use the money from the Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund to create a Community Skills Hub at its Lescudjack Centre headquarters in the town.

The three-part project will include remodelling part of the centre to create a new floor with learning rooms, recording studio and IT equipment as part of the new Gul, which is the Cornish word for ‘create,’ Community Skills Hub.

The allied Gul Skills Project will work to equip local people with basic skills to help them move towards living wage employment or further education and training. 

This will include intensive support with Maths, English, and digital skills, vocational qualifications, life skills and health and wellbeing support.

The third strand of the project is the Gul Skills Café which will deliver skills and training through the centre’s new community café and kitchen to prepare people for work in the hospitality and catering industry, which is experiencing severe skills shortages.     

Trelya’s Chair, Rod James, said: “This funding award will make a huge difference and means we will be able to support many more people from one of the most challenged communities in England, let alone Cornwall.

"It also complements the work of our ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted registered specialist nursery Skylar, and our award-winning youth work programme, Gallos, through which we are able to support people of all ages and all walks of life.” 

Louis Gardner, Cornwall Council cabinet portfolio holder for economy, said: “Trelya has quite rightly won national awards for the quality of its work supporting local communities and this Shared Prosperity Fund award through the Council will further that excellent work.

"Levelling up Cornish communities is a keystone of our Good Growth Programme and these sorts of community level investments can make a huge difference to local people.”

Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly have been allocated £132m over three years from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, a central pillar of the Government’s Levelling Up agenda.

Cornwall Council has been chosen by Government as the lead authority for the fund and is responsible for making investments in projects.

The money is being used to deliver good growth for the region by supporting local investments that provide new opportunities for communities and businesses.