Community Motors

Community Motors CIC was a social enterprise, set up in 2014 by Elaine and Justin Cooper as a Community Interest Company, to meet two specific aims: To provide excellent motor vehicle services to the local community and to provide opportunities for young and disadvantaged people to train in useful vocational skills, in particular motor vehicle mechanics. We saw and wanted to address the career challenges of young people who are not ‘academic’, are probably not suited for University, and who are currently not well served by an education system which is primarily measured by – and hence values - academic results over practical and personal development. Therefore, starting from an empty industrial unit, and joined by Mark and Kevin, our Garage and Training Managers, we built an enterprise from scratch which aimed to deliver practical and ethical excellence in all we did. We provided clear and consistent services and advice to our customers and alongside that offered young people the chance to gain real-world experience and accredited training in a professional working environment, working and learning alongside motivated, talented motor vehicle technicians, many of whom had overcome their own struggles when growing up. We worked hard to run and build the organisation as well as we could, building relationships with local schools, colleges and pupil referral units, as well as many, many members of the community around us, who came to trust us with the safety and reliability of their vehicles. We won both local and national awards for the quality of our enterprise, and many positive reviews and testimonials from happy customers and trainees.