Working away in an industrial estate on the outskirts of Nottingham two young men are tasked with 'saving lives' by making body armour for the police and riot officers. Having initially struggled to get a job in a difficult market Henry Durner, 22 and Adam Walters, 21, now look forward to going to work to produce vital equipment to protect those entering dangerous situations.
The pair are employed by Far UK which is tucked away in the Nottingham South and Wilford Industrial Estate. They are tasked with moulding and 3D-printing carbon-layered body armour for police and security personnel.
While the armour plates cannot protect against ballistic force, each plate can protect against piercing weapons such as knives. Mr Walters says their work was then tested during a live stage show and, to demonstrate the product, a customer's managing director was attacked with a knife, a spike, a machete and a baseball bat while wearing the armour they helped create.
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Fortunately the test subject was safe but the pair said it was somewhat unnerving. Mr Durner said: "It is not an industry where you can half-heart it.
"You could get this wrong and someone's life is on the line."
Before landing the job the duo had struggled to find employment in a tough job market. In Nottingham alone 16,651 people were reported to have been looking for work, compared to 15,586 the year before.
They were however helped into the vital role through a "life-changing" scheme which has helped benefit more than 170 young people in the space of a year. This was down to the assistance of Terry Galloway, who lived in more than 100 places as he grew up in care and now runs his own property management business in St Ann's.
Mr Galloway has before helped countless people, including those facing homelessness and unemployment, find a home and a job. He set up a kickstart gateway around a year ago which has already helped 176 people into jobs across Nottinghamshire.
Mr Durner and Mr Walters are just two of them. Speaking of how he landed the role Mr Durner said: "Things were not going so great.
"I was at the University of Derby and I dropped out, but I was looking for a job. My older brother had already done a kickstart scheme. He told me about this and within a week I was here."
Mr Walters was in a similar situation. He said: "I was unemployed for about two years.
"I decided to go for it and I went to the job centre. I was a waiter before and I could not deal with the customer-facing role. I felt like this was my last chance and they have turned my life around."
Having done six months on the scheme Mr Walters then landed an apprenticeship with Far UK to continue his work. He is also doing his level two engineering at college.
"It is the best job I've ever had," he added.
Catherine Onions, the operations manager at Far UK, said: "The job is protecting people and saving people's lives, as well as learning how to work and learning to be responsible for what they are putting out at the end of the day.
"It does make me very proud."
Mr Galloway said he left the industrial estate, having seen the pair experiencing great success, "very emotional". While the kickstart scheme has since been wound-down, he is now working on a similar programme for young people in or leaving care who need a job.
He told Nottinghamshire Live: "We worked hand in hand with staff from the job centres and senior DWP managers. Their commitment to young people has been exemplary and we thank them for that.
“We are also piloting a jobs program specifically for care leavers. Employers are often complaining that young people are not ready for the workplace, that the skills they learn at school don’t match what they need.
“Care leavers have those skills, but because they have been moved around too much, they don’t normally achieve the same qualifications as what their peers are getting. But what people don’t realise, although these kids are butting up against a system that is not designed for them, the skills they have developed over the years from dealing with the establishment gives them resilience, an understanding of people, tenacity, commitment, and loyalty. All skills employers need in abundance.”
