MP visits n-ergy group

MP with Donna Turner-Kot The n-ergy group invited the Bridgend MP Madeleine Moon to visit the company HQ based at Bocam Park, Pencoed. The invitation was made following a speech Madeleine made in the House of Commons last year regarding the rehabilitation of offenders and ex-offenders.

Madeleine said: I met with Donna Turner-Kot, the Managing Director, to have an overview of how the company provides help to offenders and ex-offenders. With 67% of people released from prison return within two years of release the stability and opportunity to build a new life offered by employment is critical in cutting the £11 billion a year cost of re-offending.

n-ergy is a Welsh collaboration of four companies established in 2007 working within training and education delivering 2,300 employability and vocational programmes to offenders and ex offenders. n-ergy also provides recruitment support to offenders and employs ex-offenders to deliver community base projects. This year alone e-ergy has secured employment for 44 ex-offenders.

n-ergy is currently working with all five prisons in Wales and forty in total across the country. Donna Turner-Kot explained that the main aim of n-ergy is to reduce re-offending by reducing unemployment rates of people under probation and of those leaving prison. n-ergy helps ex-offenders to re-engage with their families, communities, work and society once again.

n-ergy works employs ex-offenders working on their Gum Busters initiative, cleaning graffiti off walls and chewing gum from pavements on contracts won throughout a number of local authorities. The company also has a gardening and landscape maintenance programme. Both programmes operate across Wales and large areas of England.

Madeleine said: I was impressed with the energy and commitment of this unique company and their obvious success with a current turnover of £2.4m.

I was also pleased to hear that n-ergy has been shortlisted for the entrepreneur of the year in the prestigious Chamber of Commerce awards run in association with the University of Glamorgan Business School.