Supporting Employability

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Supporting Employability
Nicky Wordsworth Community Training Officer
Newington with Gipsyville
Kingston-upon-Hull Nov 2004
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Sure Start Target

• To reduce by 12 the number of 0-3 year old
  children in Sure Start areas living in households
  where no one is working.

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Is it advisable to encourage parents back to work?

• Some research has shown that children are better
  off if they are at home with a parent for the
  first three years of their life.
• We are here to provide an alternative to
  allow parents to make their own choice
  that suits their familys needs and
  circumstances.

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Background to Kingston-upon- Hull

• In terms of child poverty deprivation, 9 out 20
  wards are in the top 10 of the most deprived
  wards in the country.
• 55,000 out of 156,000 adults of working
  age are currently unemployed
• Its proportion of council owned homes is one of
  the largest in the country.
• Hull continues to remain bottom of the
  educational league table (31.9)
• Ranks within top 10 UK cities for teenage
  pregnancy
• 2nd highest crime rate in the UK.

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Hulls Claims to fame!

• Home of Deputy Prime Minister
• Home of the Secretary of State for Work
  and Pensions
• Home of the worlds largest Yorkshire Pudding
  Manufacturer !

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Sure Start, Newington with Gipsyville

• Led by P.A.N.D.A, currently no building.
• Two separate electoral wards
• Housing is predominantly back to back terraced
  housing.
• We are 5th wave and number 6 of 7.
• Local employment is mainly factory work, food
  industry based, retail or call centre work.

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What are we here to do?
The best start in life for every child
Better opportunities for parents
Affordable good quality child care
Stronger and safer communities
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The best start in life for every child

• Whilst parents train, we provide a good quality
  crèche provision with structured activities
• Courses aimed to improve parenting skills
• Courses aimed at improving and raising the
  awareness of play and reading with children.
• Improving parents literacy and numeracy levels

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Better opportunities for parents

• Provided 33 courses with recognised
  qualifications
• 432 hours worth of training
• 90 parents have attended training
• Providing Opportunities for work
• 14 parents have found and remained in work
• 1 parent is currently starting their own business
• 1 parent currently going through the selection
  procedure for Humberside Police Force.
• Signposted 9 parents onto further education

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Affordable good quality childcare for children

• Free Crèche which raises parents standards and
  expectations of other childcare providers
• Provided training and employment opportunities
  for 2 parents in the crèche
• Signposted 4 parents onto childminding
• 2 of which have already been approved
  and registered.
• Provided various childcare courses or work
  experience

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Stronger and safer communities

• Partnership working with parents being involved
• Improving parents confidence and parenting skills
• Helping to restore community values and ownership
• Provide local employment opportunities

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Problems for employers in Hull.

• Commitment to work
• Interview and personal presentation skills are
  generally poor
• Need staff with the right attitude to work
• Skills gap
• Poor literacy and numeracy levels
• Staff that can work shifts
• Good timekeeping and attendance
• Loyal staff

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Where do you start?

• Employment or training?

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Employers
Sure Start
Parents
L.S.C.
Jobcentre Plus
Colleges Training Providers
Childminding Network
The Community
Employment Action Teams
Childcare Providers
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The Team Approach

• Midwife Health Practitioner
• Childcare Development Worker
• Parent Father Support Workers
• Play Learning Team
• Language and Speech Therapist

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Employment

• Initially offering individual help to those that
  need it.
• Providing a CV Writing Service
• Individual structured job search help and advice
• Help with writing letters and interview skills
• Offering training with outside providers
• Using links with local employers

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Training

• Established ourselves as a recognised training
  provider with the C.I.E.H.
• Establish links with all your local training
  providers and funding for courses
• Negotiated with providers on minimum numbers
• Consulted parents as to what they wanted

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This is what they wanted!
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The key to our training success

• Consulting the parents and finding out what they
  wanted to do.
• Changing the names of courses to suit our needs
• Establishing bases parents could and would use.
• Providing adequate crèche facilities and
  continuity of care
• Providing a flexible initial support for parents
  allowing anyone to join in.

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• Providing all the materials and resources they
  need, all they have to do is turn up!
• Provide a warm welcome
• Chasing up non attendees
• Evaluating every course and establishing what
  parents wanted to move onto.

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• Building up solid links and partnerships with
  training providers and funding provision..
• Building a strong network of trainers in Hull.
• Rewarding parents for their achievements
• The Sure Start team approach to training
• Working closely with local employers to
  remove the barriers parents have to
  working

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Make learning fun!!!!!!!!!
Remove all the parents previous learning
experiences
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Accredited or non accredited

• ACCREDITED
• Majority of courses are accredited through Open
  College Network (OCN)
• Encourage all parents to have a CV when they
  commence training
• Encourage all parents to build up a
  portfolio of their development
• Reward with Sure Start Certificates

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Snowballed
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A typical terms training programme

• 9 courses per week, Monday afternoon through to
  Friday morning
• 3 courses are IT courses
• 1 Basic Skills Course
• 1 Work Related Course
• 2 Children Centred Courses
• 1 Adult Focused enjoyment course
• 1 Adult focused self-development course

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The P.A.N.D.A. Jobshop

• ESF Funded until 31st August 2006.
• Unemployed for less than 6 months
• Latest vacancies with Jobcentre Plus updated
  daily
• Training programme
• Discretionary Funding
• Links with local childcare providers

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Targets

• To sign on 700 beneficiaries for the job shop
• 40 have to find employment
• Find work for 280 people.

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• Working with local employers
• Wage subsidy
• 30 per week for 13 weeks
• 2 Job Advisors
• Jobcentre Plus
• P.A.N.D.A
• 9¼ hour secondment of the Community Training
  Officer
• Training Assistants

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Aim

• Help local people find work in the
  local community.
• Offer a comprehensive 13 week programme
• Offer some elements of mandatory training
• Offer some optional training or signpost to
  further training

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• Improve standards of presentation for CVs, letter
  writing and personal presentation
• Provide courses to help people stay in work once
  theyve found employment
• Offer a cost effective system of
  training and support to bridge
  employers skills gap
• Work closely with employers to help them find the
  right person for the job

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13 week programme

• Interview with job advisor
• CV Preparation and 11 help and advice
• Active job seeking work by individual at least 4
  hours per week (Open 9 am to 7 pm, 5 days a week)
• Presentation, Interview and Job Seeking Skills
• Bullying in the Workplace
• Discipline and Grievance
• Weeks 5 to 13 undertake 2 personal development
  courses

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• Call Centre Work
• IT familiarisation
• Working with children
• Stress awareness
• Confidence Building
• Positive Attitudes
• Report writing
• Communication Skills
• Teamworking

• First Aid Course
• Food Hygiene
• Health Safety
• Risk Assessment
• Assertiveness
• Improving Maths
• Improving English
• ESPOL
• Make the most of yourself

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• Week 13 or before, exit interview with guidance
  on-
• Benefits
• Budgeting
• Debt Management
• Update CV and portfolio
• 1 1 basis with Job Advisor

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The Challenges ahead

• Setting up an employers forum
• Moving the learner into college
• Bringing an access course into the community
• Childcare arrangements costs
• Funding for courses (14,200)
• Changing typical approaches

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The Challenges ahead

• Widening the range of courses available in the
  community, including longer courses.
• Addressing local transport needs
• Addressing debt problems
• Funding for parents of children over the age of 4
• Changes in the benefits system