Castle Vale resident cleans up.Stephen Stephen, 1097?–1154, king of England (1135–54). The son of Stephen, count of Blois and Chartres, and Adela, daughter of William I of England, he was brought up by his uncle, Henry I of England, who presented him with estates in England and France and Meah Meah (mē`ə), in the Bible, tower of the wall of Jerusalem. was unemployed for six years before the Housing Action Trust helped him to set up his own small business. He had worked for 12 years as an electrician's mate in Birmingham when he opted for voluntary redundancy voluntary redundancy n (BRIT) → despido voluntario voluntary redundancy n (Brit) → départ m volontaire (en cas de licenciements) at the age of 34. `I was travelling all around the country. But I've got a family and it was getting too much being away. It was like living in two homes, having to pay for your digs and send money back home.' But he never expected to be out of work so long. The six blank years on his CV brought him nothing but job rejections. He says it was demoralizing de·mor·al·ize tr.v. de·mor·al·ized, de·mor·al·iz·ing, de·mor·al·iz·es 1. To undermine the confidence or morale of; dishearten: an inconsistent policy that demoralized the staff. and he lost self-confidence and hope. He thinks that apprenticeships should be brought back `because that is the only way to go forward. Even though you've had 12 years' experience, you still can't get a job without the papers to show for it.' One day he saw an opportunity to start a new business advertized in Castle Vale Castle Vale is an area of the City of Birmingham, in England, originally created as an overspill housing estate in the 1960s. History Pre-Castle Vale The area was originally known as Berwood, from the Saxon ‘Bearu’ meaning 'the woods'. estate's own newspaper. He responded and the HAT supported him through its Business Opportunity Programme. With a [pounds sterling] 9,000 bank loan he bid to win a contract to litter-pick the estate. Thanks to the HAT's preferential pref·er·en·tial adj. 1. Of, relating to, or giving advantage or preference: preferential treatment. 2. employment policy, he won against competition from other companies, including Birmingham City Council's own contractors. He had never had the experience of running his own business before, let alone all the paperwork. But, he says, Castle Vale HAT believed in him and gave him the contract. `It's not what you know or how well you can do things. It's someone to give you a chance and someone to lean against that counts.' Now in its second year, Meah's business is well established, employing four people. His wife works part time for him as a secretary. His first-year turnover was [pounds sterling] 45,000 and he expects this to rise to over [pounds sterling] 100,000 by the end of this year. He has won contracts to clean several business areas as well as the estate. `If people believe in you, you've got a real chance. Without this, I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. where I'd be,' he comments. |
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