Bright Lights
Success Stories
The London Borough of Westminster has a successful economy, yet accessing employment opportunities for local residents, is often challenging. At our Paddington Central campus, we have a range of companies, with job vacancies, and to bridge the gap, we provide a two-week employment programme which aims to connect local people with local job opportunities.
The Bright Lights Programme is British Land’s free employment and training initiative that connects businesses with diverse, skilled candidates and provides access to sustainable employment opportunities for local residents aged 18 and above at our Paddington Central campus.
The programme, in partnership with The Launch Group, takes candidates through a range of employability workshops to boost confidence, build key employability skills and ultimately help candidates secure sustainable employment. As well as desk-based training, the programme includes work placements and office insight days with our site team and service partners.
The programme is already delivering employment success stories:
- 1 candidate secured a Compliance Officer role within a private bank
- 1 candidate secured a Front of House role on-site and started immediately
- Additionally, a third candidate is being considered for a landscaping role at Broadgate (our campus at Liverpool Street).
A celebration event brought together members of British Land, The Launch Group, and candidates, alongside service partners, Bidvest Noonan, Jaguar Building Services, Principles Cleaning Services, Rapport Guest Services and Willerby Landscaping. The candidates reflected on their experiences, achievements, and the valuable skills they developed during the two-week programme. Watch the video to hear more from businesses and candidates who have taken part.
Paddington Central’s owner, British Land, funded the programme as part of its ongoing commitment to make long-lasting, positive social impact in the communities in which it operates.
‘Thriving Places’ is one of the key pillars of British Land’s Sustainability Strategy, ‘Greener Spaces, Thriving Places, Responsible Choices’ and focuses on three key areas: education, employment, and affordable space. Investing in training professionals and connecting with local communities plays an essential role in the establishing responsible employment programmes.
This year’s programme was made possible by the dedication of eight volunteers from British Land, including the Paddington Central team, Storey, and our security team. We also thank Trend Micro, a British Land customer, for providing space for our training and interviews.
To find out more on Bright Lights or to be involved in next year’s programme, please contact Paddington Central’s Social Impact Manager, Ndidi Okoye via our contact form.
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A deeper connection to our local community.
Thriving Places
At Paddington Central, we’ve been working hand-in-hand with the local community for decades.
We help bring local businesses and the people who live on our doorstep together to mutually support, collaborate, and change lives.
Greener Spaces
We’re committed to decarbonising our campus, from buildings in development through to deconstruction, and we partner with customers to help them reach their targets.
Responsible Choices
The choices we make matter. So we prioritise the highest environmental, social and ethical standards in decision making and encourage our customers and partners to do the same.