Chris Holland meets the couple behind an award-winning IT recycling enterprise which is improving jobless people's employment prospects

THERE's a big contrast between the razzamatazz of an awards event and the day-to-day reality of sorting through waste IT materials in a former stable yard.

But husband and wife entrepreneurs Rob and Nicky Seal hope their double success at the recent T&A Bradford Means Business awards will give a boost to their business and pave the way fore more jobless people to find work.

Their business Ucan Recycling, which moved from Leeds to its location in a former stable block down a country lane in Wyke a year ago, specialises in the recycling and re-used of IT materials, including laptops, PCs and related equipment.

But as well as reducing waste and contributing to a greener environment, there's a strong social driver behind the business.

Rob said: "Our ethos from the start was to try and create jobs wherever possible within the local community We wanted to help the long term unemployed get back into work. Our business is dependent on the volume of IT we collect and it follows that the more we take the more jobs we can create.

"So, five years ago we made a conscious decision to reach out to the unemployed community and became a host employer for volunteers to gain work experience, learn new skills, develop confidence and to become job ready - all to increase their chance of getting paid work."

Ucan offers a free collection service to businesses, schools, universities and local authorities to clear our redundant IT materials and keep it out of landfill.

Among regular major clients are Bradford-based motor retailer JCT 600, De Montfort and Hull universities and Hull Council, Leeds NHS and Bradford Chamber of Commerce.

Rob is talking to Bradford College and the University of Bradford about recycling their unwanted IT equipment.

"Our success at the Bradford Means Business awards will hopefully help us to become more well known and to market ourselves more strongly and add more smaller companies, schools and hospitals to our client list," said Rob.

Ucan was named both job creator of the year and winner of winners at the awards. The judges were impressed by the company's ethos and achievements in providing new hope and improved employability prospects for jobless people.

Nicky Seal said after collecting the awards: "We are giving people second chances. We believe in giving people the chances they have not had before. We get CVs but you don't learn anything from a CV. I believe in the person behind the CV.

"Of course, we're in business to make money, but it's more about the people behind it."

Over the past five years the Brooklands Road firm has employed 75 volunteers from various back to work schemes who gained work experience, learned new skills, developed confidence to become job ready and increased their chance of getting paid work.

One of those on work placement had not had any paid work for 21 years and had been to prison. His experience and development at Ucan enabled him to find full-time work in a warehouse .

He was one of the 28 per cent of the firm's volunteers helped into full time employment through working at Ucan.

"We believe there is no better reference than if they have by turned up to work every day unpaid and working in all weathers, it is certainly the best recruitment tool we have found and we are proud of our 28 per cent statistic of getting people back to work.

"Whilst this figure might look fairly low, there are a large number of individuals that come on placement with the strong will that they never want to work and are just completing the course to keep their benefits. We can and have changed opinions but there will always be those that refuse to help themselves.

"We have found that these back to work schemes have a really positive effect on both the individuals themselves as well as us as a company. It is often through no fault of their own that they have not worked for a long time. Bad health, family dependency care and bad luck have often led to a lack of self-worth and resentment and this spirals into a lot of negativity and resentment about the world around them. Our aim was to break the cycle and get people back in to the routine of working.

"We can honestly say that if a volunteer during their six month placement is committed and continually hard working we will actively help find them a job either with ourselves or with an organisation within our network," said Nicky.

Ucan has also trained six apprentices, one of whom was a finalist in the 2014 Leeds Apprentice of the Year Awards.

Rob and Nicky both have marketing backgrounds and met while working for the JDA direct marketing agency in Bradford where he was an account director. Rob, who graduated in marketing from Huddersfield University and holds a diploma from the University of Bradford School of Management, also worked for a sports marketing business in Germany and a UK holiday cottage business as marketing director.

Unwilling to relocate to the Midlands following the birth of their first child, Rob got his first taste of wheeler dealing in materials after meeting a German metal trader and decided to try something different by supplying the trader with UK sourced metal.

Rob said: " It was a big risk but after working in a high pressure environment, I decided to try something new. I didn't know anything about metals and went to Germany to find out more.

"I was renting a desk for £50 a month at the Shine centre in Harehills, Leeds supplying mainly scrap aluminium and learning as I went along."

His introduction to IT waste came through working for two weeks unpaid at a recycling firm in Germany stripping down computers while continuing to trade aluminium.

It was through this experience that the idea of launching Ucan as a Community Interest Company developed.

Nicky joined Ucan as a "Jack of all trades" in 2012. Her role incorporates developing the firm's website and marketing plans, office management and HR duties- leaving Rob to focus on buying and selling at the £1.2 million turnover business which employs seven full and part-time staff and is Environment Agency approved and an approved authorised treatment facility (AATF) for waste electrical and electronic equipment.

Ucan handles and processes around 150 tonnes of waste electrical and electronic equipment every quarter and each two tonnes of kit creates one more job at the firm.

"Ideally, we are looking to handle more high end equipment such as laptops and servers which gives us batter value. We also carry out data security work including wiping of drives which we are looking to expand as a profitable line of work," said Rob.

Rob was reluctant to attend the Bradford Means Business Awards which clashed with England's game against Slovakia in the European Championships. But he's glad he did.

He said: “I was shocked and speechless. We are a small company and I’m delighted for everyone who works for us. Every person who comes to work for us is just so keen.

It just means so much.

"Gaining such recognition strengthens our message, gives Nicky and I a lift as business owners and has boosted staff morale.

"Running a small business can sometimes seem like working in a silo as you're so focused on the day-to-day operations. We don't have a marketing budget and this success will help boost our profile and put us on the map and help on so many levels."