Recycled Cars Put To Good Use In Rehabilitating Young Offenders

PRLog (Press Release) - Sep 30, 2009 -
In a new education and training partnership with Her Majesty’s Young Offender Institutions (HMYOI), Bluecycle, the online marketplace for automotive salvage and a wholly owned subsidiary of Aviva, the UK’s largest insurer, has donated a range of cars and motorcycles to HMYOI Feltham, Middlesex and Huntercombe, Henley-on-Thames.

The ten vehicles, although ‘written-off’ due to bodywork damage, all have engines in working order and these include a BMW 1 series, Ford Mondeo and three different motorcycles. They will be used as training aids for inmates to get to grips with service and repair processes and techniques and those involved in the training programme will work towards a national qualification in vehicle maintenance.

Giving young people every opportunity to develop a career within the automotive sector, as well as providing innovative and beneficial ways of re-using salvaged vehicles, is part of Bluecycle’s approach to corporate social responsibility.

Commented Piers Wilson, Head of Market Development, Bluecycle:

“It’s important to us that we can make a difference wherever possible to people by affording opportunity and skills development and at the same time looking at ethical and meaningful ways of utilising some of the 80,000 vehicles a year that we handle. Our partnership with HMYOI is something we’re keen to develop and we look forward to seeing how beneficial the initiative is to the young men on the programme at Feltham and Huntercombe.”

Ray Smith, Head of Education, HMYOI Feltham, commented:

“The availability of modern cars for our trainees to work on means that here at Feltham we can meet the requirements of our accrediting body, which requires that vehicles worked on must be under five years of age. Bluecycle’s commitment to supply replacement cars every 12 months will also ensure that the standards within the workshops are maintained. I thank Bluecycle wholeheartedly for its support.”

Tony Reeve, Head of Learning and Skills, HMYOI Huntercombe, added:

"We welcome not only the tangible contribution of Bluecycle, but also its commitment and vision to help us improve employment prospects for young people in custody. I look forward to a long and productive relationship.”

In a bid to help motor vehicle departments in the further education sector, Bluecycle is also donating sixty cars over a three year period to ten colleges as part of an industry consortium, involving the Institute of the Motor Industry, Snap-on Diagnostics and Autodata. The scheme was set up in 2007 to assist selected colleges and training providers in training students on modern vehicles, as well as providing lecturers with up-to-date technical data and skills support.

ENDS