Entry to Employment programme

	Entry to Employment

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Entry to Employment

For many homeless and disadvantaged young people, getting a job seems an almost futile task; many feel they lack the qualifications, experience, social skills and self-confidence needed to compete in today's job market. This, in turn, can lead to alienation from conventional society, and a dependency on handouts and benefits.

The purpose of our new Entry to Employment programme is to get young people on to the first rung of the employment ladder, by equipping them with the basic skills they lack, whether it be in literacy, numeracy or other basic skills, or simply the ability to find and successfully apply for a job suited for their abilities.

The programme has two parts: Pre-work and Getting to Work. The emphasis throughout is on tailoring the training to the needs of the individual, guiding and mentoring them to success.

Pre-work
The first stage of the Pre-work module is an assessment of the young person's literacy and numeracy skills, including tests to see if they suffer from dyslexia. The assessment is the basis for the next stage, which can be 'second chance' tutoring to provide greater numeracy and/or literacy skills, or training in techniques for overcoming dyslexia. Alternatively, a young person might opt to take driving lessons to gain an employable skill.

Most young people will be encouraged to undertake a period of work experience with a local employer, where they gain an insight into the world of work, including the personal discipline and responsibilities involved in being part of an organisation.

At the end of the module, the length of which depends on the progress of the individual, each individual reviews their job and training options with their mentor, and is strongly encouraged to set a realistic personal goal for the next stage.

We are very grateful to all our friends in local organisations who are willing to offer work experience to our clients. If you or your company could help, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please contact Sarah Steel, the Entry to Employment Project Worker, on 01252 312407.

Getting to Work
This module starts with a two-day training course designed to give the basics of job searching, writing a CV, identifying the most suitable jobs to apply for, and interviewing and presentation skills.

Following this, the participants begin the process of applying for jobs, meeting weekly during the evening with their mentor to discuss their progress, the suitability of their applications and how they might improve. Once a job has been obtained, the mentoring continues throughout the early stages of employment, to identify any problems and help to find strategies to overcome them. This continues for a couple of months, until the client is happy that they are secure in their job and able to sustain their performance. At this point, they may want to take advantage of our Tenancy Support Service.

See what our local press had to say about Entry to Employment.

The Entry to Employment programme is funded through The Ann Rylands Special Project, part of The Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust.