Job Centre

Council’s support for job-seekers gets thumbs up from JobCentrePlus

Winchester City Council has secured £22,000 of Flexible Support Funding from the Department for Work and Pensions towards its valued employment mentoring programme.

 

Working with national charity Sova, the programme trains locally recruited volunteer mentors to provide emotional and practical support for unemployed residents in the Winchester District.  So far 26 local residents have been trained and deployed as mentors, and 50 people with long-term unemployment or under-employment challenges have been given practical help. Demand for mentoring continues to outstrip supply, so the Council is always keen to hear from new volunteers.

 

Reaching the end of an initial two-year contract this September, the service attracted early commendation from Department for Work and Pensions officials, who have said: “This is what Winchester has been waiting for.”

 

The Flexible Support Funding will enable the Council to extend the contract with Sova for a further year, whilst a longer term grant is sought from other agencies.  The Council is also recruiting an employer engagement officer who will actively help those on the programme to apply for and take up employment or work placements – paid and volunteer-based – whilst supporting local employers to make opportunities available.

 

Andy Brown, Business Development Manager, at the Department for Work and Pensions, said:

Our Flexible Support Fund helps to improve employment outcomes for long-term unemployed individuals and groups facing the most complex and difficult barriers to work. The Winchester District Employment Mentoring Service tackles local worklessness in a holistic and joined up way, reducing dependency on benefits and moving job-seekers towards employment.

 

Winchester City Council’s Portfolio Holder for Economy and Estates, Cllr Steve Miller, added:

At a recent celebration event I met some of the job-seekers and heard at first hand how the service has benefited them.  From gaining self confidence and motivation, through to practical improvements such as CV-building, job searches, interview and IT skills, this service is tailored to suit the individual job-seeker who is carefully matched with their volunteer mentor.

The financial contribution from the Department for Work and Pensions, the contribution of £5,000 from the Charity of Henry Smith (St John the Baptist), combined with continued support from our own council will allow this popular service to go from strength to strength.

 

If you would like help with finding work and you live within the Winchester District, or are interested in volunteering on the programme, please contact Alex Solomon, Sova’s Project Manager for the Winchester District Employment Mentoring Service at asolomon@winchester.gov.uk or on 07980 732 005.

 

For further information about the employment mentoring service visit www.winchester.gov.uk/employmentmentoring or www.sova.org.uk/project/WDEM


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