Women Like Us: Working with Women Returners
Interview with Emma Stewart, Director of Women Like us.
Hi Emma, can you tell us a little bit about your ESF funded project i.e. your funder, amount of funding won, duration of the project, aims and objective, history of funding through ESF etc
The ESF really helped to get Women Like Us off the ground back when we started up in 2005.
500,000 women in the UK want to work but can’t, because they are unable to find flexible work that fits around their caring responsibilities. Of these half a million women, many suffer form additional barriers that block them from finding work, like a lack of confidence or little work experience. Myself and another working mum – Karen Mattison – set up Women Like Us to help these women overcome obstacles and find work. Now in its fifth year, Women Like Us goes out to meet London-based mums, helps make them feel ‘work ready’ through a programme of free career coaching and then connects them to employers who offer quality part-time jobs.
One of our first ever contracts, with London Councils, gave us access to ESF funding.
Women Like Us now receives ESF support through various funding streams. We are currently in the midst of another two year contract with London Councils (2008 – 2010), and have just won a new contract from the LDA to help women from 20 boroughs into employment.
You are obviously working with a specific target group, can you please describe the target group you work with and your recruitment methods.
When a woman drops out of the labour market to care for children she can lose foothold in the workplace.
1,500 women are currently registered with Women Like Us, and of these 25 per cent are lone parents, 24 per cent are on benefits, and 42 per cent from black and minority ethnic groups.
Women Like Us goes out to meet women where they feel most comfortable talking about their fears around work: the school gates. We have a team of flexible outreach workers who work with schools and other community settings to reach women with children who are thinking about returning to work. we currently work with 183 schools and across 24 boroughs.
How do you ensure retention and effective delivery and in addition, please explain what measures you have in place, in the event that something goes wrong.
The Women Like Us board is ultimately responsible for the delivery of our ESF funded projects and they receive regular project updates and management information. A project director assumes responsibility for the delivery of our ESF funded projects and brings the necessary authority to ensure that the project is fully resourced to achieve its outputs.
A project manager looks after all aspects of each project on a day-to-day basis, ensuring that a clear plan is developed, implemented and monitored, achieving outcomes and that we are delivering a high quality service to our clients. The project manager reports regularly to the project director.
The project managers chair weekly delivery team meetings. Where any issues arise, an immediate correction plan is developed. Should a persistent issue of underperformance arise, the project director is tasked with ensuring a speedy resolution.
To a third sector organisation reading this who may be considering working with women returners or with lone parents (of whom the majority are women) through an ESF funded project, what advice would you give to ensure successful delivery?
Firstly, recognise the needs of women with children as a constituent group with very specific needs, like needing affordable childcare, finding work that is not too far from home, help with managing work-life balance etc. Understand that all these needs must be addressed for women to be able to take their first step back to work.
Let your clients shape your service. For example, we ensure that we always work within our clients’ timetable and way of thinking. Coaching sessions are arranged at times which mean that parents can easily make them after dropping off kids at school. We also ensure that our workshops are held in term-time (since parents are so busy with caring responsibilities in the holidays).
Finally, providing women with access to part-time and flexible jobs has been absolutely key to our success. We don’t force women into roles that don’t fit their level of skills or experience, nor do we dictate and tell women what they should do. We provide choice, support and understanding on every step of the journey to work.
What is the difference that ESF has made to your organisation?
One huge point of difference has been the fact that we have been giving long-term funding. Though the majority of women progress within six months, we support many women with multiple barriers for whom that journey back to work can take a little longer. Additionally, many mums register with Women Like Us later in the year, and for one year contracts, this can mean a short period of support. Longer contracts allow us to provide end-to-end support, which means that we don’t have to break contact with a client mid-journey.
The ESF funding also allows us to help a diverse range of women with children who are out of work i.e. not just women who are receiving benefits support, and not just single parents (though we do of course help these groups). Poverty rates amongst two-parent families with one partner in work are surprising high in London. The need to move the potential second earner, the mother, into employment is crucial. The ESF’s funding really helps us to go out and engage with that ‘invisible’ group of women who need our support.
Contact info@womenlikeus.org.uk for more information.
Seetec: Successful Tracking Techniques
Can you tell us a little bit about your ESF funded project i.e. your funder, amount of funding won, duration of the project, aims and objective, history of funding through ESF etc
The Hardest to Help project is funded through the Job Centre Plus ESF programme with a total value of £4.1m. Its main focus is on supporting unemployed people back into to work. The profile demands that 40% of all leavers go find employment. However we have to demonstrate that for those that did not access work we have provided suitable assistance to ensure that their situation is significantly improved. Through evidence outlined through the Individual Learning Plan and Progress Reviews Seetec’s Employment Consultants are able to plan an appropriate direction for participants to take to overcome their barriers
Can you please explain the systems you have in place to successfully track participants?
Any participant that goes into work is given a Job Validation template with an accompanying letter to the employer which highlights how to complete the form, (if necessary) where to send it and why we need it. Additionally it highlights who Seetec is and how if required we can work together in the future as a free supply of future employees. This process can help with future tracking if a participant is employed with a company we have worked with previously.
All Employment Consultants are tasked each month with contacting all clients that have left provision other than into work to ascertain their current status. Through letters sent we are able to track the majority of clients that may have successfully entered into work and then retrieve the necessary paperwork needed. Unfortunately this method does not work every time so every month two members of staff remains in the office after work to telephone clients which may have been at work in order to track their current status.
Are particular participants that you have worked with more difficult to track than others? Can you please give examples of systems you have implemented to ensure successful tracking takes place?
We have had participants that are more difficult to track than others. With the vast majority of participants we are able to verify where they are working and collect the paperwork accordingly, largely owing to the financial incentive offered. However for some participants we have telephoned the employer and asked whether by fax return we are able to receive the requisite verification. Participants, through tracking, we can discover are working but do not want to divulge where. This presents significant difficulties; in the first instance we contact the Job Centre Plus (if the participant is registered unemployed) to check the place of employment, should this fail we contact the DWP which is able to contact the national payments department on our behalf to check whether the participant has informed of their place of work. Since the beginning of the provision this has only happened twice where the participant is not interested in the financial incentive or passing on their current status for our records.
What is the difference that ESF has made to your organisation?
The most significant difference ESF has made to Seetec is registering participants on a part-time voluntary basis. As an established training provider Seetec’s contracts are predominantly New Deal on which clients are compelled to attend on a mandatory basis. A voluntary provision allows us to tailor an individual approach that is non-prescriptive and over a significantly longer period of time. Part-time and voluntary courses, maximum contact time 15 hours, ensure that we register participants that are happy to attend and to assist staff to improve their status. Additionally we are able to work with job seekers that may have other obligations throughout the week.
Finally, do you have any examples of clients who have benefited directly as a result of this project (or previous ESF projects)?
We have had participants attend and benefit from the provision primarily owing to the bespoke nature of the set-up. The timeline outlined for each participant is dependent on the skills and experience they have and what needs to be achieved. For example we have assisted participants that have warehouse experience to secure a work-trial which resulted in Seetec paying for the client to complete a forklift licence to take the position offered on permanently. Participants wishing to complete a SIA (security) licence have graduated and gone into work as have those needing CSCS certification.
On more specific cases we have worked with parents returning to the work place that have not worked for a significant length of time and thus have little confidence or motivation. Through 1-2-1 support we have slowly encouraged a change in perspective and confidence to attend interviews.
Our clients are deemed hard to help and to me the most significant success was helping a woman back to work who had suffered at the hands of an abusive partner and whilst happy to attend the office was not comfortable to go to work. She attended counselling to help her through a traumatic time which by week resulted in her enthusiasm to move forward. Seetec worked to help her with her motivation and how to analyse the labour market and how to job search. Gallantly, she began to, with assistance, complete application forms and was tutored in how to deal with interviews and after a time managed to find work at Tesco in South Tottenham.
HAVCO receive 1:1 support
Can you tell us a little bit about your ESF funded project i.e. the client group, your funder, amount of funding won, duration of the project, aims and objectives etc
My name is Alison Sargeant and I am a Personal Best Advisor for an ESF pre-employment/voluntary project at HAVCO. My target group are unemployed people who live within the London Borough of Havering and have below a Level 2 qualification, I therefore deal with people who have recently been made redundant and those who have been unemployed for a number of years including lone parents, women returners, ex-offenders, people with disabilities and those who have experienced mental health issues.
My aims and objectives are to enroll people onto a 7 week programme which includes taught sessions, one to one IAG and volunteering. At the end of the programme the students will gain an Open College Network qualification and the opportunity to gain a First Aid Certificate and further IT training. After the programme students have access to one to one IAG support in job search/voluntary position support.
With all of this support the students gain confidence, self esteem and some focus on their personal short and long-term goals.
The project ends December 2010 and has been allocated full funding of £360,000, jointly funded through the LDA adn LSC under the Personal Best programme.
How have you accessed the Unlocking ESF Potential project?
I have attended two sessions under the ESF potential project - IAG and CV writing. Following on from the IAG session I was lucky enough to be given 1:1 support. My background is in recruitment and although I had naturally given adults advice on CV’s and interview techniques I had never had formal training or supported people who needed overall focus in their lives.
I found the training invaluable and brought back a number of ideas and techniques which I have shared with my line manager. The 1:1 support gave me the opportunity to discuss some of my individual cases and I was given a number of ideas and techniques from the trainer which we have implemented at Havco and I use on a daily basis.
During the period of this support I was working towards my NVQ in Advice and Guidance Level 3, which I have successfully achieved. I have no doubt that this was partly due to the support and 1:1 training I received under the Unlocking ESF potential training I received from GLE.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the trainers and support staff from GLE who are professional at all times and offer excellent support to those people delivering projects.
Contact alison.sargeant@havco.org.uk for more information.
Barnabas Workhops: Tracking Tips
Can you tell us a little about your ESF funded project i.e. the client group, your funder, amount of funding won, duration of the project, aims and objectives etc.
Barnabas Workshops has two ESF funded projects through the London Councils ESF programmes. Both projects focus on moving individuals from hard to reach communities into employment.The first project: Project 1 First Steps which is worth £218,788 is a cross-borough project working with Somali, Bangladeshi and Pakistani women. The women we are engaged with, are very far removed from entering employment. Most have never worked, they have poor language skills and only engage with others within their own community. The second project: Shape your Life is a partnership project whihc provides employability support, through training and mentoring for unemployed residents in Redbridge focusing on the most deprived wards in the borough.
What practical approaches do you have in place to engage with, and retain your particular target group?
Practical approaches include: outreach to communities, delivering taster sessions in venues such as children's centres, schools, community centres, housing offices and the polyclinic, offering incentives such as vouchers for attendance and achievement, as well as free yoga and keep fit classes. Community cohesion is also encouraged through events and discussion groups.
You have particularly innovative approaches in place to address tracking, can you please explain a little about how these operate and the benefits they have produced for your organisation.
As part of the induction programme, clients are required to sign up to our tracking/mentoring programme. They are required to provide their consent for us to contact their training provider, or employer. Barnabas Workshops has more than 14 years experience of offering employability support and tracking has always been a key element of our project management processes. However, with the introduction of outcome-payment funding and the requirement for clear evidence of outcomes, it has been necessary to appoint a member of staff with an exclusive role in managing the tracking process.
How have you accessed the ESF Potential Project?
Staff from Barnabas have attended a number of workshops which have been extremely valuable, particularly for new staff who may be new to ESF funding. Not only has there been the opportunity to develop new skills, but also network with other providers and benefit from best practice. The Unlocking ESf Potential Study visit to Prague in September, provided me with a great understanding of the breathe of work undertaken through ESF funding. It also allowed time to develop partnership links.
The Citizens Trust: Mentoring Programme
Can you tell us a little bit about your ESF funded project?
The Citizens Trust has a 2 year LDA ESf project worth £371,000. The aims and objectives are to deliver pathways to employment to over 300 disabled people to progress them towards the London labour market. The Citizens Trust has had ESF funding from London Councils, LDA, LSC and DWP.
What is the difference that ESF had made to your organisation?
Having ESF funding has given us flexibility to design innovative programmes to meet the needs of our client group. It has also helped us to provide the intense support that our clients need to gain employment.
Why did you get involved in the organisation-to-organisation mentoring programme and what did your organisation have to offer a mentee?
We wanted to support our smaller partners within our projects to help them deliver and make them a stronger partner for the future and for other funding oppportunities. We were able to offer support in various areas including financial systems, project management, funding strategies and partnership working.
How has your organisation benefited from the mentoring programme?
The relationship betwee the Citizens Trust and the mentee organisation, Ealing Dyslexia Association (EDA), was mutually beneficial. It was in the interests of the Citizens Trust to help capcity-build EDA through mentoring so that they could become a viable partner within our contracts. The benefit for EDA was that through the sub-contract they could grow and become accustomed to a contract-led culture and then be able to bid for contracts themselves, thereby becoming more self sustaining and better able to expand their work with the dyslexic community. We will be continuing the mentoring sessions into the future, as both organisations have gained value out of the relationship which will strengthen the ESF project delivery.
Do you have any general advice for third sector organisations who may want to improve their services to people with disabilities through an ESF funded project?
If working with the hard to reach participants, intervention with employers is key. It is vital to provide initial and ongoing support within the workplace to both employee and employer so that any problems are sorted out early and also to prepare the employer for the kind of issues that may arise.
Contact info@the-citizen.info for more information.
Action Acton: Mentoring Programme
Can you tell us a little bit about your ESF funded project?
Action Acton is the lead organisation on the 'Ealing One Stop Jobs Network' project, funded by ESF via London Councils, delivering it with a large partnership of voluntary sector organisations across the borough of Ealing. The project is worth £660k over three years to the end of March 2011. The project provides a one stop shop of employment advice and guidance. Working through the partnership, it caters to a wide variety of participants with multiple disadvantages.
What is the difference that ESF has made to your organisation?
ESF has enabled Action Acton to design bespoke training to overcome the barriers its participants face. The flexibility of ESF allowed us to seek innovation solutions and test them with a variety of participants across the partnership so that it could see what did and didn't work.
Why did you get involved in the organisation-to-organistion mentoring programme and what did your organisation have to offer a mentee?
Action Acton got involved in the mentoring programme as a way to support its smaller delivery partners on its London Councils project. Part of the support offered to the mentee organisation was intended to ease them into the reporting system required by London Councils. We covered a variety of areas including the development of proper systems for recording evidence of activity, tracking outputs and completion of the required paperwork. We looked at helping them put in place the system of recruitment to the project that had been agreed among the partnership for the borough. Also the establishment of work placements was a priority so that the organisation could operate effectively to deliver its outputs and achieve job outcomes.
How has your organisation benefited from the mentoring programme?
The mentoring programme helped Action Acton's overall project delivery by helping the partner organisation deliver the outputs required by the contract. It also helped the mentee organisation build their capacity so that they will be better able to deliver in Action Acton's projects in the future, or to apply for funding independently having more experience of the systems that would be required for developing their own projects.
Contact info@actionacton.com for more information.
The Vine Project: Unlocking ESF Potential
Can you tell us a little bit about your ESF funded project i.e. the client group, your funder, amount of funding won, duration of the project, aims and objectives etc
The Moving Forward Project is a £220,000 project that has been funded through the London Councils ESF programme between 2008 through to March 2010.The Moving Forward Project has over the past two years supported lone parents, from homeless households. Support has been provided in the form of practical training and mentoring. We have also actively supported our participants with practical help in furnishing and maintaining a home. This is one of the bases that helps prepare the ground for our clients being able to move forward with their lives and towards employment.
The Moving Forward Project was delivered by the Vine Project which is based in Merton. The Moving Forward Project operates in the boroughs of Merton, Sutton, Croydon and Kingston. In the life time of the project 72 participants were recruited onto the project of which 45 have undertaken training to either update their work skills or further their educational needs. To date, 6 participants have secured employment whilst another 15 are actively job searching.
The Moving Forward Project has focused on intense mentoring with all clients. This included drawing up an individual tailored training plan focusing on what specific needs. Once our participants had achieved their objectives, they were supported for an additional 6 months on a fortnightly basis or, if necessary on a case by case basis.
Clients were also signposted onto other services where it was considered they needed help to address various issues going on in their lives.
How have you accessed the Unlocking ESF Potential project?
The Vine Project has attended a number of workshops which have been extremely valuable, particularly for new staff that may be new to ESF funding. Not only has there been the opportunity to develop new skills, but also to network with other providers and benefit from best practice. This has been invaluable to us. Workshops we have attended include those on IAG, Engaging Employers and Benefits.
Can you please explain the benefits i.e. attending workshops/receiving 1:1 support/attending study visits and how this has directly impacted on the delivery of your ESF project
The Moving Forward Team has benefited without a doubt from all the fantastic professional training provided through the Unlocking ESF Potential project. The training has been extremely relevant covering a range of topics we have needed to address with our clients. The systematic training courses covering IAG and CV writing, Job Brokerage, Tracking of Participants, Evaluation and Understanding the Benefit System has been one of the reasons we have been able to achieve the outcomes we have. Being able to leave the training sessions fully equipped with this knowledge has enabled us and motivated us as a team to carry on striving to do the utmost best for our clients and achieve the outcomes stated for the project. The information, tips, advice, sharing of ideas within the sessions and the feeling of not being alone out there has undoubtedly helped us to carry on with confidence and a renewed appreciation for the goals and objectives were have been trying to achieve through out the life of the project for the betterment of our clients.
The 1:1 support has allowed us to get more in depth advice and guidance on more specific areas we have needed to focus on with our clients in order to achieve our outcomes. The follow up from these sessions was also most helpful in helping us to stay on track and constantly working at achieving the goals set out in the 1:1 sessions with the trainer.
Study visits to other funded projects (ESF Study visit to LIVERPOOL) gave us a wonderful insight into the amazing work being carried out around the country with different target groups. The sharing of knowledge, ideas, good practice methods, seeing systems that have been tried, tested and work and being able to network with like minded people was beneficial all round and is a ‘win win’ situation for anyone that attends a study visit organised through Unlocking ESF Potential. Thank you for this opportunity.
How would you say the support has been useful for your organisation on a wider basis?
The support has been most useful to our organisation as a whole as we have been able to share our training, knowledge and ideas with colleagues in the different departments in our organisations. This insight and knowledge has helped us to streamline operations, improve systems and set up more effective operating procedures. Any new project we may take on in the future can undoubtedly use this knowledge and training to set up effectively from the start.
Our professional development as a team and as individuals from when we first started on the Moving Forward Project has grown exponentially. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the trainers and support staff from Unlocking ESF Potential who are professional at all times and offer excellent support to those people delivering projects.
Contact esfpotential@gle.co.uk for more information.
