Groundwork West Midlands

1
Groundwork West Midlands

• Over 200 staff across the West Midlands with
  offices in Birmingham, the Black Country,
  Coventry and Warwickshire and Stoke-on-Trent. A
  small team of staff based in a regional office in
  central Birmingham.

2
Flexible Individual Routes to Employment (FIRE)

• Easier to get a job when you are in a job
• Common reason given by local firms for failing to
  recruit local people has been poor attitude and
  motivation amongst candidates. This problem of
  'employability' is related to long periods of
  unemployment and benefit dependency
• Intermediate Labour Market (ILM) is a solution
  towards this
• Targeted audience
• over 12 months unemployed
• low / no qualifications
• aged 18

3
The Characteristics of an Intermediate Labour
Market

• Employment Status and Wages The ILM package
  consists of 60 of time spent on work, 20 on
  training, 20 on personal development.
•          There is an emphasis on core and
  transferable skills and job related training on
  or off the job. Training must lead to recognised
  qualifications, linked to personal needs and
  local jobs market.
•          Personal development and support is
  offered in order to monitor progress and address
  problems to provide careers guidance and to
  encourage continuous learning.
•          Aftercare We continue to offer support
  for at least six months after they achieve
  sustainable employment.
•  

4
Activities undertaken

• Canal footpath restoration
• Alley gating
• Community gardens
• Dropped kerbs
• Road improvements
• Park maintenance
• Placement option
• all occupational areas including, care, health,
  retail, administration

5
Lessons to be learnt

• Placements vs. in-house teams
• Is this an employment programme or a training
  programme?
• Different requirements by funders
• Is there targets on sustainability ?
• Competitiveness when tendering for work

6
Intermediate Labour Markets are a 'work first'
approach.

• They are a tested way of improving employability
•       They provide a bridge to employment for
  long term unemployed people
•        They give excluded people the time,
  support and wages to get off benefits and into
  work - and stay there. (On average 60 of our ILM
  beneficiaries moved into jobs and 80 of these
  stayed there)
•         They provide real short-term jobs
  simultaneously with training in working practices
  and working skills.
•         They assist personal development and
  job-search
•         They bring benefits to communities by
  stimulating new community enterprises, creating
  jobs, increasing income and by working with the
  public and private sectors.