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ABOUT BLACKBURNE HOUSE
Blackburne House is a Liverpool-based charity that supports the development of local - and often vulnerable - women. With a core focus on education, we offer a wide range of nationally-recognised courses and qualifications to women - particularly in sectors in which women are still under-represented. Set in a Grade II-listed building in the heart of Liverpool's Georgian Quarter, we enable women to learn and grow in a safe environment.
Blackburne House, formerly the Women’s Technology and Education Centre (WTEC), was established in 1983 with the aim of progressing women from disadvantaged backgrounds into employment within technical professions – an area in which, at the time, women were significantly under-represented.
The organisation grew quickly and considerably and, in 1991, moved into new premises in Liverpool’s famous Georgian Quarter. More than £4m was raised in order to breathe new life back into Blackburne House and the beautiful, Grade II-listed building became our new home.
Today, Blackburne House is a vibrant and thriving organisation and one of the country’s leading education centres for women – but we wouldn’t have experienced the growth we have without the help of our partner organisations. Over the years, we have established a number of successful social enterprises that succeed in supporting our educational aims and provide tangible examples of how new markets can be used to serve local communities.
Attracting thousands of visitors each year, our facilities now include a thriving bistro, health spa, conference and events facilities and a 30-place nursery.
OUR VISION
The vision of Blackburne House is to educate and upskill women so that they can pursue professions in every sector and at every level – including maintenance, logistics and technology, where women are still typically under-represented.
We aspire to give confidence to the women we work with so that they can go on to live independent lives, believe in their dreams and achieve their ambitions. We want to inspire our women to believe that anything is possible.
We want to instil a culture of empathy and understanding; of inclusion and acceptance. We want to overcome prejudice, discrimination and adversity and create a positive and holistic environment where women can share, learn and grow.
OUR VALUES
At Blackburne House, we have a core set of values that is ingrained into everything that we do. Those values are integral to our organisation, helping to define our long-term aims and objectives and influence the way we work.
EQUALITY
Blackburne House actively promotes a holistic approach to improving the lives of women – all women. We are committed to developing the services we offer to ensure that we are delivering services that will contribute to improving the lives of women.
INDEPENDENCE
We seek to promote confidence amongst the women we help and aim to equip them in order that they can be both personally and financially independent. We have also established a number of social enterprise businesses and a programme of charitable activity so that Blackburne House can be commercially independent.
INSPIRATION
We are committed to inspiring the women we work with at Blackburne House; raising aspirations is built into our education and development programmes and always reflected in our teaching, working and the services we provide.
TRANSFORMATION
By thinking and working creatively, we continually seek new ways to meet and exceed our financial, social and environmental aims – renewing and transforming areas of our business to ensure that we positively influence everyone who works with us.
OUR IMPACT
As a high-performing social business, our social purpose and the social value we create is key to all of the activities undertaken at Blackburne House. We are home to a wide range of social businesses including The School for Social Entrepreneurs North West (SSE NW), Blackburne House Bistro, Blackburne House Nursery, The Wellness Centre, and Blackburne House Conferencing and Events – all of which create social value for the wider community.
All of our profits enable us to deliver outstanding educational and economic opportunities for women from across the city who view Blackburne House as a safe place to access learning and personal development.
Feedback from our learners and customers has proven that, by offering a range of educational opportunities, women across the city go on to access higher education and employment, becoming role models for their family and friends.
Blackburne House is key to the economic activity of many women and this can only be achieved as our social enterprises generate income and opportunities.