Part of the council’s regeneration directorate, the service delivers its aim of ensuring that public funding and resources are aimed at helping those who need it most and it is targeted to get the maximum impact from investment.
The main focus of current activity is to reduce the numbers of residents out of work by helping create local jobs working with existing and new employers, growing self-employment opportunities in the borough and enabling our residents to access employment opportunities.
So far to date, community investment team activities have assisted 796 residents who were receiving benefits into employment in North East Lincolnshire.
Change programme
Through the Change programme the team develops and funds a number of services to reduce the number of people receiving benefit support and to create jobs in the area to assist the local economy to develop and thrive. Change was established in January 2010 and has a 10 year plan to address unemployment in the borough.
We know that being in work not only reduces poverty but means that people have better mental health, more choice in their lifestyle and their children aspire to a better future. Change services include: the employment support key worker service, Crosby employment bureau, stepping forward to work, creating work opportunities, Empower and OWEN projects.
Changeworks
Changeworks is an innovative scheme aimed at small-medium size businesses which can potentially offer half the wage costs for the first year of employment for a new role created within their company.
The scheme can also offer a grant of £2,500 which can be used to subsidise a new apprentices’ pay. The programme has been specifically developed to increase the number of apprentice opportunities for unemployed 16 to 18 year olds in the borough.
The aim is to help businesses develop and grow and to also create job opportunities for long-term unemployed people in the borough.
Change programme employer mentoring service
The Change programme has launched a new employer mentoring service offering access to free, professional human resources (HR) advice and guidance to SMEs through a qualified and experienced adviser. The service will be delivered by efactors and aims to help 500 SMEs in North East Lincolnshire, and create and fill 50 new jobs.
Trained advisors will go into a business and provide bespoke one-to-one help on a range of issues to enable businesses to better manage their employment contracts and policies, develop their current workforce and plan for their future staffing requirements.
The project is partly supported financially by the European Union. The project has attracted £240,000 investment from the European Regional Development Fund as part of Europe’s support for the region’s economic development through the Yorkshire and Humber ERDF programme. The ERDF investment was match funded by North East Lincolnshire Council's Change programme, to give a total investment of £510,000 for the project.
For further details or to access the service please contact e-factor on (01472) 887005 and ask for an employment and HR advisor, or email, info@e-factor.co.uk
Local enterprise growth initiative
The community investment team manage the significant Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI) contract with e-factor for the council. This is to help grow existing businesses and create more through encouraging residents to start their own business. We are also involved in directly running the enterprise loan fund and work closely with e-factor to help deliver the contract.