Potential Brewed

Well, we didn't bring home the trophy... but we did have a fantastic evening! 😊

We're incredibly proud to have been shortlisted for the North Cheshire Business Awards. Just being recognised alongside so many brilliant organisations and businesses is something we're really grateful for.

A huge congratulations to the deserving winners, Holmes Chapel Zoo. We hope you enjoy celebrating your well-earned success! 🏆

A big thank you as well to Everybody Health & Leisure for sponsoring the award and to everyone involved in organising such a wonderful event.

We're leaving feeling inspired, proud of what we've achieved in such a short space of time and even more motivated to continue tackling the digital divide across our local communities.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Potential Brewed on our journey so far. We've got plenty more to come.

Everybody Health & Leisure Holmes Chapel Zoo North Cheshire Business Awards North Cheshire Chamber Of Commerce

We're ditching our branded Potential Brewed hoodies tonight... and scrubbing up for a very special evening! ✨

We're absolutely delighted to be finalists at the North Cheshire Business Awards and can't wait to celebrate with so many inspiring businesses and individuals from across our local community.

Dion and Lara are heading to Mottram Hall this evening for what promises to be a fantastic night of celebration, great company and recognising the incredible work happening across North Cheshire.

Whatever happens, we're incredibly proud of how far Potential Brewed has come in such a short space of time. From community digital drop-in sessions to launching Confidence Brewed with National Lottery funding, it's been an amazing journey, and this recognition means a great deal to us.

Wish us luck! 🤞

We'll be sharing updates throughout the evening, so keep an eye on our Instagram to see how we get on.

The National Lottery Community Fund

Since launching Potential Brewed CIC, we've run 28 drop-in sessions, supported 367 individuals, and now completed our first full cohort of Confidence Brewed - with a second cohort well underway.

None of this happens without the community around us.
The venues that open their doors to us. The volunteers who give their time.
The partners who help us reach the people who need us most.
And of course, the individuals who walk in - sometimes nervous, sometimes sceptical - and choose to give it a go.

Special thanks to The Hope Centre in Macclesfield for renting their meeting room to us for cohort one. They are a lovely, local charity with a cafe on Park Green. They welcome all and host some great events for the community.

Big thanks also to Tim Roca MP, who has allowed us to use his meeting room free of charge for cohort 2.

The Hope Centre Tim Roca MP

We're incredibly proud of our first Confidence Brewed cohort.

When these young people walked through our doors, many hadn't thought seriously about what came next.

Six weeks later, they'd built real digital skills, written their CVs and taken a laptop home with them. But what's happened since is what really matters.

Our Cohort 1 graduates have now moved into 12 weeks of one-to-one mentoring with the Potential Brewed team to help them work out their next steps. And those next steps are already taking shape - whether that's college, starting a business, or further training. It's early days, but the trajectory is brilliant.

This is exactly what Confidence Brewed is designed to do. Not just give people a course, but a foundation to build from.

We're so proud of every single one of them.

If you'd like to support future cohorts or know someone who'd benefit from our programme, we'd love to hear from you. Drop us a message.

📷 Just 2 of the cohort who wanted to be in the photo with Chun-Kit :-)

Cohort 2 of Confidence Brewed is underway - and what a first week it's been.

Week one is always a special one. Young people arrive not quite sure what to expect, and by the end of the session, they've unboxed their own laptops and started setting them up.

That moment when it clicks that the laptop is theirs to keep at the end of the course - you can see the shift in the room.

Over the coming weeks, they'll cover everything from online safety and communication to Microsoft Office, CV writing and planning their next steps. They'll finish with 12 weeks of mentoring support to help them along the way.

We can't wait to see what this cohort achieves. Watch this space.

If your organisation would like to support Confidence Brewed or refer young people to a future cohort, please get in touch.

Big day for Potential Brewed today!

Lara and Chun-kit headed to the job centre this morning to talk to advisers about Confidence Brewed - our free 6-week digital skills course for 16 to 19-year-olds not currently in education, employment or training.

They shared what the course involves, how it works, and - most importantly - how job centre advisers can refer young people who'd benefit from it.

Here's a quick reminder of what Confidence Brewed offers:

A free laptop to keep on completion
Help getting online and staying safe
CV writing and job applications
12 weeks of mentoring after the course

We're currently working towards getting more funding to allow us to deliver the programme to even more people.

Macclesfield Job Centre

Want to learn and get a laptop?

Nominations are now open for the 2nd cohort of our digital skills course.

Not only will you receive a free laptop on completion of the course, but you'll also get 6 weeks of in-person teaching and 12 weeks of mentoring to help you with your next steps.

The course is open to 16-19-year-olds who aren't in education or work and live in Macclesfield or the surrounding areas.

Complete the form below if you think you or someone you know would like to join us.

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=RZHMtS4mOUiOcyLRd_LNORs7-qFj8ndMkVV3jQyQRcJUNkU1OVRTREhBVk42TUg4S00zUzlMVlZUMS4u