THE work of a County Durham project that provides employment opportunities for young people aged 16 to 18 has received royal recognition.

The Skill Mill, which works closely with the Environment Agency, was presented with two Queen's Awards for Enterprise by HRH The Princess Royal.

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The awards recognises the work the social enterprise is doing to promote sustainable development and social mobility by helping young ex-offenders break the cycle of offending through employment in environmental construction.

Operational team leader for Northumbria Tyne and Wear, Gerald Lee who coordinates Environment Agency training opportunities, said: “It is an incredible honour to have met Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne, and talk to her about the Environment Agency’s work with the Skill Mill.

“Our success can be measured by the reduction of reoffending and the high numbers of individuals securing employment after taking part in the scheme.

"I’m incredibly proud of the Environment Agency’s involvement with this scheme, and by the successes of the young people involved.

David Parks, founder of The Skill Mill and its managing director, added: “It is an incredible honour to have met with Her Royal Highness, we are very grateful to her for visiting and seeing the work we do and present us with the Queen’s Awards.

“To be awarded one Queen’s Award is an incredible achievement by any standards, to get two is something none of us could ever have imagined, and especially being a social enterprise.

"It’s fantastic recognition for our staff, partners and the young people we employ – they’ve all shown such resilience and fortitude in the past two years to grow our services and increase our geographic reach and help more young people into work and away from crime.”

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