A programme to help solve North East Lincolnshire’s unemployment problems has had a successful start.
The Change programme, which uses local organisations and trained key workers to support people into work, has secured over 300 enquires resulting in 27 people getting jobs.
The project is paid for by Working Neighbourhoods Funding, a fund given to deprived areas across the UK. The money was given to North East Lincolnshire Council (NELC) to help deal with reducing unemployment and growing enterprise in the borough.
Since December 2009, it has successfully commissioned a string of projects including one to create work opportunities at Shoreline Housing Partnership.
Shoreline offer Intermediate Labour Market (ILM) opportunities to residents of North East Lincolnshire who have been unemployed for six months or less. The aim is to create placements to help develop the skills and employability of someone who would otherwise be out of work. To date, Shoreline has created 19 ILM placements leading to 27 actual jobs.
Change also helps to build and strengthen partnerships and has brought 22 organisations from across North East Lincolnshire together in a bid to make the programme easy to access and simple to use.
Those involved include the Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education (GIFHE), Foresight, CERT Ltd and Second Avenue Resource Centre. All organisations are dedicated to ensuring that unemployed people involved in the project receive a seamless, helpful experience.
The Change partnership is also responsible for introducing community ‘buddies’ or key workers to the programme who are based in the community. Forming the employment support key worker team, their job is to reduce the amount of confusion and break down the barriers associated with being unemployed.
In the case of one client, who is both unemployed and a lone-parent of two young children, Change has made an impact. After speaking with a key worker, she realised that there was help available. She received support from her designated key worker to develop her confidence and realise she can achieve, this led to her being interviewed by NHS Employability. She has now secured a placement and is hopeful of employment at the end.
Councillor Steve Beasant, portfolio holder for Community Safety, Neighbourhoods and Customer Service, said: “The aim of the Change programme is to find sustainable outcomes to worklessness, this is exactly what it seems to be doing so far.”
“With projects such as the Worklessness Collaborative and the Key Worker Team at the heart of the programme, local people are being helped to combat the barriers they are facing that are preventing them from getting into employment. Some good work is being done and Change can only continue to help more people throughout North East Lincolnshire.
"The initial success of Change bodes well for the future of the programme which is expected to continue for the next decade."