(RELEASED: 27 November 2009 )
Croydon-based ‘Call Britannia’ aims to lift 10,000 out of unemployment

Call Britannia, a pioneering call centre business based in Croydon which aims to create 10,000 jobs for the unemployed, officially launched on Wednesday 11^th November. The unique company is the brainchild of the UK's leading social entrepreneur Karen Darby.

Of those 10,000 jobs, 45 will be created in Croydon in the first six months.

The company aims to open ten new call centres across the UK over the next seven years, giving 10,000 staff a minimum of six months' employment, and equipping them with the skills, accredited training, support and work experience needed to provide clients with a first-class service. Following this ‘incubation period', Call Britannia will help its ‘graduates' to find work using their newly-acquired skills and experience.  

All its offices will be based in some of the country's most economically-challenged areas and Call Britannia will provide sustainable employment, as well as a high-quality service to customers. Six new recruits, all previously long-term unemployed, have started on the Call Britannia training scheme, with a further eighteen joining before the end of the year. 

Organisations in both the private and public sector will be encouraged to sub-contract work from their contact centres to Call Britannia. As well as the measurable benefits from such an approach, partner organisations will also have the opportunity to recruit trained and skilled Call Britannia ‘graduates' at no cost.

The venture is being backed by over £1million of new investment. The Bridges Ventures' ‘Social Entrepreneurs Fund' has invested £500k into Call Britannia and Big Issue Invest's Social Enterprise Investment Fund has invested £350k. A further £292,500 has been awarded by the government's Future Jobs Fund, and another £150k will come from the management team headed by social entrepreneur and Call Britannia's founder Karen Darby. 

Karen Darby, Founder and CEO of Call Britannia said,

"Call Britannia will be a contact centre business with a conscience. This is a truly unique venture that comes not a moment to soon for the UK. Our aim is simple, to create 10,000 new jobs and employ the unemployed. We're passionately committed to providing sustainable work opportunities for those who need it most. Almost two and a half million are now out of work in this country, including almost a million of our young people, the highest levels for many years. People are paying a terrible price for the recession.

"We believe we can be highly successful commercially, while at the same time delivering a huge benefit to the local community and the individuals who work for us. Rather than avoid the worse-off areas of the UK, we'll base ourselves directly in them."

Call Britannia is a pioneering contact centre business that aims to create 10,000 jobs for the long-term unemployed. The Karen Darby Foundation will be established in the first year of business, funded by a percentage of revenue from Call Britannia commercial work, to give employees support with a number of things that can create barriers to long term sustainable employment, from purchasing suitable work clothing, childcare costs, travel costs, moving from weekly to monthly income and further education and training.

Karen Darby was the founder of SimplySwitch, a price comparison service that was funded by Bridges Ventures, and sold to the Daily Mail and General Trust for £22 Million in 2006.

Companies interested in finding out more should visit www.callbritannia.com