Rinova Ltd is based in London and is active in labour market programmes, particularly those that foster economic, social and cultural inclusion.
Rinova was founded in 2010 – but our link with Metropolisnet goes back a long way! Our Founder, Richard Parkes (widely known as Rick), first worked with the Director of gsub mbH and MetropolisNet, Reiner Aster, in the context of EU programmes as long ago as 1997! When Rick founded Rinova, the two got in touch to collaborate again and this led to Rinova becoming a member of Metropolisnet in 2014.
Rinova’s work is all about partnerships. In the UK, it has managed and implemented many large-scale skills and employment partnerships in London. These have had a particular emphasis on tackling the ‘NEET’ situation – where young people are not in education, employment or training. Many of these partnerships involve the full range of stakeholders, from employers and colleges to NGOs, educational bodies and public authorities. It has a particular specialism in the cultural industries and develops projects, which foster the ‘triple apex’ of social, cultural and economic inclusion.

In Europe, Rinova has participated in an extensive number of EU projects. This has included a number with MetropolisNet and its members, including the UK-led Erasmus+ projects Euro-iVET designed by Rinova, in which Metropolisnet is a partner and Job Broker, for which Rinova is the applicant and which is partnered by gsub mbH.
Being based in a global city such as London, co-operation at the international level was built into its founding vision – and its work with its extensive range of European partners is as valued as ever. With regard to Brexit, Rick says
We do not know what those negotiations will bring. We are hopeful that, if Brexit does ultimately occur, at the very least the UK will be an active participant in EU programmes in the way that some non-EU countries are, such as Norway and Iceland. Either way, we are determined to maintain and extend our relationships with our many European partners and to continue to co-operate with colleagues on the international stage – so that we can continue to learn from each other and build new solutions for labour markets and urban regeneration.

Rinova regularly publishes news about its work through its website and social media. You can find a number of full articles about its project work on its website here http://www.rinova.co.uk/news/ or follow it on its Facebook page (just look up ‘Rinova London’) or its Twitter feed @RinovaLtd.

Richard Parkes

Rinova:
The Rinova Team (from left to right): Richard Parkes was speaking at a conference while this picture was taken.
Julie Parish, Amanda Francis, Alexandra Walker, Trevor Burgess, Sheniz Tan, Michele De Vito, Mamta Dave, Stacey Garey, Monica Aroma, Donna Pollard.