A Newport timber company offering work placements to care-experienced young people has become the first private sector company to sign the Welsh Government’s Corporate Parenting Charter.
Premier Forest Products, working with Newport City Council, offers paid work placements for up to six young people a year along with mentoring support and educational tutoring where needed.
To date, the company has supported 12 young people with placements across departments including finance, operations, logistics, and manufacturing, providing the confidence, structure, and opportunity to move successfully into the world of work.
Each mentee is matched with an in-house mentor and receives wraparound support and funding (where applicable) for tuition and exam fees to GCSE level, to help them achieve the basic qualifications needed to pursue their chosen field.
Corporate parenting is about supporting care experienced children and young people to have the same opportunities in life as all children and young people in Wales. It describes the collective responsibility of local authorities and elected members to support and nurture every child or young person who enters care. But the private sector can also play a pivotal role in ensuring care experienced children and young people flourish.
To date, 73 public and third sector organisations have signed up to become corporate parents. Signatories of the Welsh Government Charter agree to support a set of corporate parenting principles as they deliver existing services, design new ones, and think about the support and opportunities they can offer to care‑experienced children and young people.
Minister for Children and Social Care, Dawn Bowden, said:
“These work placements are a fantastic example of how corporate parenting works in practice.
“Through the scheme, Premier Forest Products helps equip care experienced young people to have high aspirations and to secure the best outcomes for themselves. I’m delighted they have become the first private sector company to sign, and complete, our corporate parenting charter.”
Terry Edgell, Group CEO of Premier Forest Products, said: “As a business, we have always believed that commercial success comes with social responsibility. The idea behind our corporate parenting programme is simple: if we can give these young people the same care, encouragement, and structure we would give our own children, we can change their life chances.
“What started as a local pilot in Newport has become something much bigger. We are seeing the tangible difference this makes.
“Young people are now thriving, working, and believing in themselves again. Our goal is to roll this out nationally, and to inspire other employers to do the same.”
