The framing workshop is part of the CISS vocational services in Calderdale. It offers training in creative and practical skills, assessment and support toward work-readiness while providing opportunities for an affordable and imaginative way of displaying work produced by service users.
Emphasis is placed on recycling timber, which helps encourage creativity, a distinctive ‘signature’ and contributes to sustainability. The workshop supports other groups and schemes, to help improve presentation and recognition of their work and give opportunities for trainees to see their own work valued and used in public settings. They are currently working with a number of other Trust services to produce frames for artwork produced on inpatient wards.
The scheme uses existing workshop premises in central Halifax which gives access to most woodworking machinery necessary, and Creative Minds was able to provide the necessary investment in framing equipment, materials and storage.
The workshops run in blocks of ten week sessions, covering health and safety, a machinery and equipment induction, framing and presentation styles before starting practical work on obtaining and recycling timber, machining mouldings and assembling frames. Mount cutting, glazing and constructing frames lead on to using commercially available timber to make affordable mouldings and building a second frame, further practising the skills introduced, before making a third frame using commercial mouldings.
During sessions trainees are also able to work on orders for staff, gaining useful experience of dealing directly with the customer, understanding and responding to their needs and seeing their work valued and appreciated on completion.
The workshops are open to all eligible to access Calderdale Inclusion Support services, currently those part of Care Programme Approach, who are referred to the Vocational Team. Training is provided by a CISS worker and a volunteer who has completed the training and has several years’ timber trades manufacturing experience.
The work enables training opportunities, workshop skills and real experience for trainees together with opportunities to work on commercial projects, collaborating with other groups or organisations on a variety of styles of work.