Jobseekers at TNG help restore Leasowe Lighthouse

The recent speed-dating session followed a motivational speech by Billy Schwer, former world champion welter weight boxer.

Birkenhead jobseekers enrolled with TNG, a national welfare to work training provider in Price Street, are helping to benefit the community and have recently contributed towards the refurbishment of Leasowe Lighthouse.

The Leasowe Lighthouse, the oldest brick lighthouse in the UK, had been in a state of disrepair since the last lighthouse keeper died in 1935. Over the years, there had been attempts at refurbishing the building but such a huge project demanded a lot of time and money.

Funding for the restoration project was raised by charging a small admission fee to schools and local neighbourhood groups for visits to the bottom two rooms of the lighthouse which had always been in open. In addition, fundraising days have been held which involves people abseiling down the lighthouse and donating the money they raise to the restoration project.

As part of their New Deal programme, customers at TNG are given the opportunity to spend part of their programme at one of TNGs Development Centres, where they gain hands-on experience in woodwork, brick-laying, plastering or horticulture. In order to develop their skills and help the community, they seek to participate in volunteer projects, so the restoration of Leasowe Lighthouse seemed like an ideal opportunity.

The TNG team tackled rooms which had previously been damp and covered in moss and restored them by stripping the walls back to their original brickwork, sanding and varnishing floor boards and removing excess rubble and rubbish from the top of the lighthouse to the skips below. There was also some horticulture work carried out around the lighthouse premises and this was completed by the team who also laid a new path leading up to the lighthouse.

Jane Brade, Regional Manager at TNG said, “The people enrolled on TNG courses were looking for ways to develop and maintain their skill base, while benefitting the local community. Being out of work can really affect your confidence, particularly when you are used to going to work every morning. Being part of a team and using their skills to benefit the local area is a huge boost to them, and they should all be very proud of their achievements. We are grateful to everyone who has made this project possible and it is fantastic to see something so ingrained on local history back to its former glory.”