Unlock Potential.
Secure a Brighter Future.
Clays Lane Advice and Training Centre (Clays Lane Trust) is a highly innovative social enterprise assisting unemployed individuals and local communities in East London to develop their potential.
Assisting East London Communities to Develop Potential
We assist unemployed people across East London through niche training, one-to-one mentoring, and work placement programmes — helping them build careers from the ground up.
Core Operational Principles
Our Core Services
Training/Seminars & Workshops
Niche training workshops that have supported over 100 people from various backgrounds in East London.
- Free and funded programmes
- Social enterprise & startup courses
Starting a Micro Business
Guidance on business setup, marketing strategies, funding resources, and social innovation.
- Focus on self-employment
- Professional enterprise coaching
Structured Job Search
Workshops focusing on modern job searching techniques, CV preparation, and interview processes.
- Direct application training
- Confidence building sessions
Employment Support & Innovation
One-to-one mentoring to provide specific interventions for individuals to progress and secure careers.
- Tailored 1-to-1 counseling
- Aiming to assist 200 people a year
Fulfilling Placements Success
Our service users have successfully transitioned from volunteering to careers, including management roles in the NHS.
- Targeted administrative training
- Verified UK career outcomes
Work Experience & Placement
Our office provides platform opportunities to brush up on administrative, management, and business skills.
- Assisting five people a year in office
- Broad networking and contacts
Supported Employment
We link people with learning difficulties or mental health needs to volunteering and supported employment pathways.
- Mental health charity partnerships
- Individual supported interventions
Our Verified Local East London Impact
Aspirations Improved
Unemployed individuals supported through start-up workshops.
People Empowered
From hard to reach groups transitioning into employment.
Workshops Run
Held in local East London churches, community and youth centres.
Digests Distributed
Copies of the Job and Business Digest distributed across boroughs.
Highly Innovative Social Enterprise Model
Refurbishing Derelict Buildings
We have a history of refurbishing derelict buildings to create physical and social value. Having done this in the Clays Lane area in East London, we are currently bringing this model to Hickling, Norfolk, to renovate "The Sanctuary Store" (an turn-of-the-19th-century Old Telephone Exchange) back to community use.
Volunteer Lead
Our projects are lead and piloted by volunteers gaining work-related professional experience that takes them from unemployment into jobs.
Greenwich Partners
We collaborate with the Social Enterprise Unit (SEU) at the University of Greenwich to develop programmes.
International & Regional Scope
From our roots in Stratford and East London housing estates, we are expanding our projects regionally to Hickling in Norfolk, and internationally to develop community programmes in Africa and developing nations.
Real Impact in Our Communities
Nigeria School Computer Installations
"We project managed the refurbishment, sale, and installation of 50 donated computers in a school in Nigeria. This sustainable project required no external funding, empowered our volunteer with project management and enterprise skills, and has given us an income-generating model."
10+ Workshops in Community Centres
"We ran workshops on self-employment and business start-ups in churches, youth, and community centres across East London. We improved the aspirations of over 150 people and are building on this as a sustainable social enterprise."
Julie’s Teaching & Lecturing Journey
"Julie had obtained a Masters degree in management but was working in low paid unskilled jobs, struggling to find academic work. We provided mentoring intervention in teaching and linked her with experience opportunities at a university where she became a visiting lecturer."
Secure a Brighter Future for Londoners
Help us scale our employment projects, volunteer your professional time, donate equipment for local training, or spread the word to support self-employment and community innovation in East London.
Get In Touch with Clays Lane Trust
Whether you want to participate in our training courses, enquire about work placement opportunities, or learn about our creative writing initiatives, our team is here to guide you.