workwise annual report 2015-16 final
TRANSCRIPT
St Mungo’s
Workwise Annual Report
Lambeth social housing tenants
affected by the under occupancy charge
(Bedroom Tax)
01 Feb 2015 to 31 January 2016
Authors Yusuf Pickstock, Roger Hamilton, Ciara Morrin and Louise Rankin
Title Workwise Annual Report 1st Feb 2015 - 31st Jan 2016
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CONTENTS PAGE
1. Project Summary 3
2. The Challenge 5
3. Narrative of data produced over the year 5
3.1 Demographics 6
3.2 Age range 6/7
3.3 Ethnicity 7
3.4 Declaration of criminal convictions 7
3.5 Unemployment Profile 8
3.6 Benefit type at the point of registration 8
4. Profile of jobs gained 8
4.1 Jobs gained by hours chart 9
4.2 Jobs achieved by length of unemployment 9/10
4.3 Jobs achieved by benefits type 10
4.4 Jobs by self-declared criminal conviction 10
4.5 Employment Sustainment 10
5. Volunteering 11
6. Workwise HACT Social Impact Valuation Statement 13/14
7. Client Feedback 14
8. TPAS Awards 18
9. Work Club 18/19
10. Chelsea FC Recruitment 19/20
11. Case Studies 20
12. Learning Works 27
13. Lambeth Working and JCP Lambeth 27
14. External partnership work 28
15. St Mungo’s Skills and Employment 29
16. Other partners 30
17. Young people 31
18. Local partnerships 31/32
19. Other partnerships (beyond Lambeth) 32/33
20. Progression Fund 33/34
21. Work Support Packs 34
22. Digital Inclusion 35
23. Mentoring 35
24. Health 36
25. Foodbank 36
26. SHP, Centre 70 and Lambeth Money Champions 36
27. Tenancy Sustainment 37/38
28. Other Workshops 38
29. The team 38
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Project Summary
The Workwise service is a partnership between Lambeth Housing Management
(formerly Lambeth Living) and St Mungo’s. It is an employment, training and advice
project that supports Lambeth social housing tenants who are affected by the Under
Occupancy Charge (bedroom tax) and are therefore at risk of losing their tenancies
and becoming homeless. Workwise provides tailored support to equip tenants with the
skills, knowledge and confidence to get into work or move closer to employment,
thereby helping to manage the shortfall in rent/housing benefit and sustain their
tenancies.
Workwise is co-located within the Welfare Reform team at Lambeth who look for
innovative ways to help tenants meet their rent payments. Workwise is seen as a
solution to help tenants back into work. The team has a range of other solutions
available to assist tenants including mutual exchange, downsizing, and lodgers
scheme, in addition, supporting more vulnerable tenants with discretionary housing
payments. The team also works very closely with Centre 70, a local charity who
provide tenants with debt advice and support with utilities and grants.
Tenants are made aware of the steps which can be taken to mitigate the impact of
changes to their housing benefit. Those impacted by welfare reform are assessed to
determine sources of assistance required and directed to appropriate support. The
Welfare Solutions Team effectively achieve this, producing a responsive approach to
supporting these households by tailoring their offer to tenants in order to make
attempts to mitigate the impact of benefits cuts.
At the start of the project, audits suggested that there were roughly 2000 Lambeth
social housing tenancies affected by the size criteria. The breakdown of this cohort
included 40% of households who were deemed to be in the non-priority group for
discretionary housing payments and support. Of the 40%, 16% of households were in
arrears and therefore at risk of homelessness. It was identified that the majority of
these households have experienced long-term unemployment and require significant
support to successfully prepare them to be ready for the labour market.
Funding for the service was provided for 1 year via the DWP’s Flexible Support Fund,
with the current service originally scheduled to start on 1st February 2015 and end on
31st January 2016.
During the first year of the project the Workwise team have embedded into the welfare
reform team and gained an in depth understanding of available welfare solutions. They
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have liaised and shared case management with officers to support tenants with their
options whilst holding a primary focus on employment. Lambeth Housing Management
have made this process seamless by not only providing excellent data, but also
allocating a dedicated employment officer to Workwise who has been an essential
conduit to referrals providing detailed reports to enable targeting of eligible tenants for
support. In addition they provided a progression fund of £10,000 to aid in supporting
essential costs in finding and sustaining employment.
In the initial stages primary focus was on working with tenants in receipt of Job Seekers
Allowance, many of whom have been within the non-priority group. Other priorities
have been tenants in receipt of Income Support or Employment and Support
Allowance. However, these tenants have proved to have more complex needs and
have generally been further away from returning to the labour market. Many have been
families and parents who are otherwise not required to seek work – because of caring
responsibilities, sickness or disability.
By far the greatest achievement of the partnership in the first year has been 100%
tenancy sustainment by all tenants accessing the Workwise project. Many have had
eviction panels and attended court to make agreements to address their rent arrears.
Workwise staff coming from St Mungo’s, a homeless charity understand and reinforce
the importance of tenancy sustainment. The team have felt privileged to work with
tenants on a homeless prevention project, all of whom have previously worked with
clients post eviction on employability contracts.
Prior to the under occupancy charge, many tenants were able to survive on welfare
payments. However, with deductions in housing benefit of 14% for one spare room or
25% for two or above, this has now proved simply unsustainable. In monetary terms a
single occupier in the non-priority group has found that out of their £72 pounds job
seekers allowance, their rent liability alone has to cover on average £30 to £50 a week
respectively. Workwise provides a reality check and has proved a genuine motivator
for tenants to strive for employment as the only option to mitigate their circumstances
and maintain their tenancy.
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The challenge
As an Employment specialist team, Workwise continue to support clients but often
have to challenge expectations to enable them to move closer to the employment
market.
Key areas we tackle:-
Lack of motivation to engage regularly
Lack of understanding of the employment market
Low confidence leading to low initiative to contact the team to ask for help
when needed e.g. interview secured
Self-awareness of personal barriers to employment
Poor IT skills, literacy and numeracy needs and low desire to improve these
Attendance and timekeeping
Poor communications skills in general
Poor diary management and general organisational/planning skills e.g.
looking up google maps to get to a new destination for interviews or
appointments
Limited understanding of what employers want and need
Ability to read and understand job specifications and apply themselves when
completing job applications
Generic CV’s
Negative attitudes
Unrealistic salary expectations
Narrative of data produced over the year
Workwise initially aimed to work with 150 tenants over the duration of the 1 year
project. However demand for employment support by tenants has been high and the
team exceeded this expected outcome by September 2015.
Over the 12 months Workwise engaged with 198 tenants. 55 / 28% were from North
of the borough, 40 / 20% were from South, 24 / 12% were from tenant management
organisations. Central Lambeth was by far the highest area for clients requesting
support and have represented 79 / 40% of the cohort.
A total of 428 one to one sessions were attended by 198 tenants over the year. These
were sessions held by one of the dedicated Work Co-ordinators, who help clients to
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move towards their work and learning aims. The discussions centre on both long term
goals (dream jobs) and short term (work to help with their current financial situation).
330 work- focused sessions have been attended, which are designed to provide
support with CV preparation and review, interview techniques, application forms,
presentations or other work-focused activities. The coordinators use coaching and
motivational interviewing techniques to empower clients to work towards their own
goals.
66 tenants were recorded as undertaking foundation skills sessions. These were single
sessions and workshops that support clients back in to work. Examples of these have
been sessions attended at the St Mungo’s Recovery College, meaningful use of time
and some non-accredited training courses.
117 tenants were recorded as having attended basic skills sessions and workshops
that support them with their ICT, literacy or numeracy skills.
414 referrals were made by the team to employment, education or volunteering
opportunities. This resulted in the following outcomes:
22 tenant securing part-time work
70 securing full-time work
92 tenants receiving in work support
19 work placements gained
99 places gained on education and training courses
35 qualifications recorded as achieved so far
64 volunteering positions gained
Demographics
Of the 198 tenants seen by Workwise there has been a ratio of male 74 / 37% to female
124 / 63%
Age range
The majority age range of referrals to Workwise has been tenants aged 51-65 66%,
some of whom reached pension credit age whilst on the project, when they ceased to
be affected by the under occupancy charge. 24 tenants or 12% were aged 61+ at the
point of initial engagement. 66 tenants were aged between 26-50 years and made up
34% of the total cohort. 2 clients 1% were tenants dependents aged 18-25 years.
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Age Range Number
of
Clients
Percentage of
Clients
Between 18 – 25 2 1%
Between 26 – 35 11 6%
Between 36 – 50 55 28%
Between 51 – 60 106 54%
Between 61 – 70 24 12%
Ethnicity
Ethnic Origin Number
of
Clients
Percentage of
Clients
Black or Black British:
Caribbean
70 35%
White: Other 10 5%
Black or Black British: African 36 18%
White: British 37 19%
Black or Black British: Other 6 3%
Client does not wish to
disclose
10 5%
Mixed: White & Black African 2 1%
Asian or Asian British: Other 4 2%
White: Irish 6 3%
Mixed: White & Black
Caribbean
5 3%
Arab 1 1%
Asian or Asian British:
Pakistani
1 1%
Other ethnic group 3 2%
Unknown 7 4%
Declaration of criminal convictions
Although Opal the St Mungo’s internal client monitoring system does not record this
data it is captured on the Workwise enrolment form. From a manual count it was
established that 20 / 10% of the cohort have self-declared criminal convictions. 10 /
5% did not wish to disclose. 168 / 85% of the cohort declared that they did not have
any convictions and felt this was not a barrier in returning to the workplace.
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Unemployment Profile
Length of unemployment at point of registration:
Length of Unemployment Number of
Clients
Percentage
of Clients
0-6 Months 37 19%
6-11 months 22 11%
12-23 months 24 12%
24-35 months 11 6%
36 months + 86 43%
Did not disclose 18 9%
Benefit type at the point of registration:
Benefit Type Number of
Clients
Percentage of
Clients
Jobseekers Allowance 136 69%
Employment and Support
Allowance
38 19%
Income Support 9 5%
No eligible benefit 15 7%
Profile of jobs gained
Workwise participants have worked hard to achieve matches to their aspirations and
shown immense tenacity to achieve jobs in what has proved to be a competitive
employers market. In reporting jobs, the Workwise team has broken down the
reporting of weekly hours worked into 30+, 16-29, 8-15 and under 8 hours. The team
recorded 92 job entries over the 1 year project.
It is generally seen that although clients may have achieved a job outcome, those
working under 16 hours a week will not necessarily sign off Jobseekers allowance or
their eligible benefit. For the purpose of the Flexible Support funding for Workwise,
these positions are seen more as added value rather than as a validated outcome.
Tenants are made aware that if they undertake work and still claim JSA, they must
declare their weekly hours of work to their DWP advisor on their signing day. Workwise
has witnessed instances where clients have built up their hours in multiple part-time
jobs in order to move away from claiming Jobseekers allowance or Employment and
Support Allowance.
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Jobs gained by hours
Jobs achieved by length of unemployment
Length of Unemployment Number of
Clients
Percentage
of Clients
0-6 Months 22 24%
6-11 months 19 21%
12-23 months 14 15%
24-35 months 14 15%
36 months + 17 18%
Did not disclose 6 7%
The data analysis demonstrates that 45% of jobs achieved were by tenants who were
unemployed for less than 1 year. This is no surprise to the team, as recent work history
is more appealing to potential employers. Naturally the longer a tenant is out of work
the more isolated and generally less confident they become about returning to the
labour market. However, equally Workwise can evidence that an impact has been
made with those that have been unemployed in the longer term. 33% of jobs were
Jobs gained 30+ hrs per week Jobs gained 16-29hrs hrs per week Jobs gained -8hrs hrs per week
Resident Liaison Officer Retail Assistant Cleaner (Bank staff)
Painter and Decorator x5 Self-employed (Cake Making and sales) Matchday Steward x 4 (Football
club)
Construction Operative x3 Careworker (Supporting vulnerable adults) Car parts deliver driverAir Conditioning engineer Retail Online shopper (Supermarket) Adventure Playground workerSupport Worker x2 Home delivery driver (Supermarket) Registered as self-employedAdvocate x2 Concierge/handyman Mixology drinks business
Acivities Co-ordinator (Charity) Cleaner x3 IT network maintenance business
Return to nursing (Hospital) Nail Technician Sign maker
Healthcare Assistant Older peoples worker (LA) Childcarer
Nursery Nurse (Under 5's) x4 Nursery Nurse (Under 5's)
Teaching Asst (Primary School) x2 Food Services Asst (NHS) x4
Property Management (Estate
agents) x2
Support worker x4
Delivery and Collections driver x1 Jobs gained 8-15hrs hrs per week
Catering Asst x3 Cleaner x7
Retail Shop manager x2 Online shopper (Supermarket)
Warehouse Asst x3 Personal assistant
Office Manager x1 Waiting staff x2
Office Administrator x6 Dry Cleaners assistant
Customer service agent Childcarer
Security Officer x3 Careworker (Residential)
Postal Worker Sorting office Employability course facilitator
IT support desk operator
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achieved by tenants who have been unemployed for 2 years or more. Within the 36
months + cohort, evidence shows that a number were previously out of the labour
market for up to 10 years.
Jobs achieved by benefits type
Benefit Type Number of
Clients
Percentage of
Clients
Jobseekers Allowance 70 76%
Employment and Support
Allowance
11 12%
Income Support 5 6%
No eligible benefit 6 6%
Jobs by self-declared criminal conviction
7 / 35% tenants with self-declared criminal conviction achieved a job outcome whilst
on Workwise in the first year of delivery.
Employment Sustainment
Whilst sustained employment was not a KPI in the original submission, it was
recognised that the team needed to evaluate the job entries achieved and measure
whether the cohort achieved sustainable employment. This is an ongoing exercise at
the time of the current evaluation, but some key themes were highlighted.
68 out 92 or 74% of the jobs achieved were still active at the end of the first year of
Workwise. From data produced so far, reasons for jobs ending have included:
Temporary contract ended
Not passing probation period / early termination
Travel cost / hours available
Zero hours contracts, not guaranteed hours
Sickness
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Volunteering
Central to the success of Workwise, has been the close working relationship with the
Welfare Solutions team members; to identify clients and set up strategy and processes
to help get the best possible outcomes.
GET SET GO
The Welfare Solutions team designed the Get Set GO volunteering programme in
partnership with the Lambeth Estate Pride team. This is a 3-6 month programme where
tenants who are bedroom tax affected have the opportunity to take part in in
volunteering work within their local community. 45 Workwise participants gained
volunteering outcomes through this project. They volunteer their time to undertake
community volunteering for Lambeth (4 hours a week) and in return received support
with their spare room subsidy shortfall – this experience has had a really positive
impact on the clients’ finances and tenancy management as well as well providing
them with great work experience, new skills and an up to date reference.
Due to the success of the pilot phase, Get Set Go expanded to cover:
Resident Surveys - Volunteers work outdoors in pairs on a selection of estates
surveying fellow residents face to face about various community issues. The results
are used to help shape Lambeth Housing Management’s future housing Services.
Volunteers gain experience in; conducting surveys, dealing with the public in a
customer service role, capturing information and gaining an insight into community
engagement alongside area Housing officers.
Estate Inspections – Volunteers help across a variety of estates being mentored by
staff from Area offices and playing a key role in helping to deliver housing services to
fellow residents. Volunteers gain experience with reporting, dealing with contractors,
writing repair requests, communicating with fellow residents, understanding how the
housing sector works and problem solving.
Other projects that tenants have worked on include a Shed Audit Project and
Mystery Shopping
NHS promotion work
The Workwise team have support by promoting the scheme and directly referring
clients – they have also acted as mentors to tenants throughout the opportunity and
aim to help to capitalise on the experience by moving them into paid work wherever
possible.
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The Get Set Go programme also offers comprehensive training and employability
support to the participating clients. 11 tenants from this cohort are currently completing
Community into Housing qualification at Level 2, facilitated by Lambeth’s Learning
Works team and High Trees.
In addition, the Employability Project Officer has also been building key new
connections with employers, contractors and other council departments.
External volunteering
Lambeth Volunteer Centre – the Work Coordinators have established a link with
Jo, the Good Practice Manager at Lambeth Volunteer Centre who we hope to work
with more closely going forward to provide opportunities for our clients. We
currently refer clients to the drop in sessions at LVC. We also use Do-it.org, Team
London, WWV and Vinspired to help clients find interesting and relevant
volunteering opportunities for them. We discuss the great benefits of volunteering
with our clients – it can be a real platform to paid employment providing hands on
experience, a reference, new skills and new networks and a great way to fill a gap
on a CV for the long term unemployed – not to mention the sense of wellbeing it
engenders for those who find a volunteering opportunity they love.
We’ve built a connection with Rosalyn Wheeler at Lambeth and Merton CAB and
we hope to place some clients on their advisor training.
We’ve also formed a connection with the local group ‘Community Support’ who
have informed us about a local internship opportunity with social enterprise Global
Justice which two of our clients have applied for.
Workwise HACT Impact Valuation Statement
Age
unknown
Under
2525-49 50+
No. with
unknown
results
£72,587♦ Full-time employment London 10,767£ 20 46 808,501£ 687,226£
♦ Self-employment London 11,588£ 1 3 45,487£ 38,664£
♦ Part-time employment London 1,229£ 12 10 43,249£ 36,762£
♦ Vocational training London 1,124£ 18 81 178,020£ 151,317£
♦ Regular volunteering London 2,357£ 13 51 121,140£ 98,124£
♦ General training for job London 1,567£ 2 66 130 493,197£ 419,217£
♦ Regular attendance at voluntary or local
organisationLondon 1,773£ 5 14 20,209£ 16,369£
Average
person valueAnnual budget Associated outcome / value Total value
No. of participants (+ ages)
In which region
is this activity?
Total minus
deadweight
Budget : social impact Net benefit
£ 72,587 £ 1,447,679 1 : 19.94 1,375,092£
Overall budget Overall social impact
Analysis of benefit
HACT Social Value
Lambeth Housing Management was keen that the social impact of the work undertaken
over the first year of Workwise was evaluated. The value that communities derive from
programme investment can be difficult to quantify, so we worked to develop a set of
financial values which could be attributed to particular interventions based on the initial
budget. There has been consistent data collection by the team using St Mungo’s Opal
management information system. Evaluating, and reporting of data has been key in
validating outputs on a weekly and monthly basis. It was suggested that we use the
Housing Association Charitable Trust’s measuring tool in this exercise. There were
many sustainment and wellbeing values that could have been attributed to the
analysis, but due to the limited timescale in writing the evaluation a decision was made
to use the main KPI hard outcomes achieved. These were then measured against the
HACT values for London, contained in the Social Value Bank. When thinking about
community value, there was a wish to assess the positive impact that comes from
employability work within social housing but specifically with Welfare Reform affected
tenants. For this initial benchmark the results demonstrate a cost:benefit ratio of
1:19.94. The results of this statement are being shared with the wider work St Mungo’s
is undertaking in measuring and reporting on social impact as part of the Knowledge
& Information project.
Client Feedback
What the tenants say about Workwise
Tenants were asked to feedback on the service provided. Due to the time frame in
which the evaluation needed to be undertaken a focus group was organised. 15
tenants responded to the request and were used to gather feedback. We developed
an online feedback form and the results were as follows:
Re sp o nse
Pe rce nt
66.7%
33.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
Answe r Op tio ns
Don't Know
Good
Ho w wo uld yo u ra te the q ua lity o f the Wo rkwise se rv ice ?
Poor
Excellent
Prefer not to answer
Average
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Were you supported to access skills training, volunteering or
employment opportunities?
Answer Options Response
Percent
Yes 100.0%
No 0.0%
Comments:
"Interview skills, advice about work, guidance through the process of volunteering and getting back
to work."
"It is opening up new avenues of employment through the support and advice received."
"My work experience has given me transferable skills and has given me confidence."
"I improved my CV and they made jobs available for me to apply to that I couldn't have sourced
myself."
"The service gave me hope, and opportunities to gain new skills."
"Completing application forms and interview techniques!"
"Work skills, preparation for interviews, filling in job applications, job search and structuring CV."
"Opportunity to find work"
"Working with the housing teams and how and what goes on in housing"
"I gained a certificate on a course"
"It has helped me to break a barrier to work"
Do you think you have benefited from the support and information,
advice and guidance provided by the Workwise service?
Answer Options Response
Percent
Yes 92.9%
No 7.1%
Comments:
"My experience with the staff and workwise service was great. In fact I felt more guided
and supported by the staff at workwise than at the job centre. I am very pleased with
the experience I had whilst there. I would recommend anyone to the workwise services
team. Thank you so much for all your support and help."
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"Give them an award, they deserve recognition for their hard work."
"I have really enjoyed all aspects of the courses and work experience and staff have
made me feel very welcome and part of the team. Thank you everyone."
"They help you to challenge and improve yourself, starting with building your
confidence."
"I found the staff very supportive and helpful. I received regular info on jobs and
training. The volunteer work that I participated in gave more confidence and experience
of working with the public and within the community. I believe the Workwise scheme is
very beneficial for all who attend."
"Very helpful and professional, also friendly."
"The service has helped me to build on my self-confidence and career path. The
experienced staff have guided me through the process of how to apply myself in the
employment market. The service was able to provide the appropriate resources in
collaboration with other agencies that have supplied training through short courses.
The staff have always made time to meet with me to discuss my future goals, progress
in job search, application filling, updating CV and keeping me up to date on new
courses and job vacancies."
"Very helpful, getting regular emails regarding job and workshop opportunities not
necessarily available elsewhere.”
"good"
"Exemplary support"
"Great"
"The service is alright"
"Informative, helpful and supportive"
Are you now more confident about your employability skills and
knowledge?
Answer Options Response
Percent
Yes - More Confident 64.3%
No - Less Confident 0.0%
Don't Know - Confidence Unchanged 35.7%
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Comments:
"You can't fix what isn't broken!"
“More job opportunities so more people can benefit from the great service.”
"Their work deserves improved funding to ensure they help even more people, at the
very least it warrants continued funding."
"The longer the service continues the more it will develop and grow. More facilities,
contacts and training links available to the staff team would enable them to offer more
of a wider service to their clients. It would be beneficial to offer this service to more
people at more places within the community.”
"Like most projects, everything has a teething stage. At this moment, I cannot say what
areas there would be for improving, but I am sure there might be from others
experience."
"More work placement opportunities."
"More group sessions."
"Locations"
"I would have to think about this more"
"More advising about workwise across Lambeth"
Did you access the Workwise progression fund? E.g. travel
expenses for interviews, or items to help you move forward to your
goals
Answer Options Response
Percent
Yes 64.3%
No 35.7%
Please comment on areas to improve the
Workwise service
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TPAS Awards
Workwise was a shortlisted finalist for the TPAS Awards 2016, under the category of
Excellence in Employment Skills & Training.
The ceremony was held on Friday 5th February 2016 and sadly our project fell at the
final hurdle with Synergy’s Housing “b-roads” youth employment project successful in
what was a very competitive category.
It remains a fantastic achievement for us to have been acknowledged in this way by
TPAS, as to be shortlisted in itself is recognition of the genuine difference we are
making to the lives of tenants by proactively supporting them in finding work. This was
really brought home by our tenants who joined us at the awards ceremony having
successfully participated in “Workwise” and “Get Set Go”, all of whom highlighted the
positive impact the projects had made to their lives.
Tenants and staff at the TPAS awards 2016
Work Club
During the first quarter of Workwise it was recognised that the team needed to
undertake some outreach work and visit different areas of the borough to engage with
tenants that wouldn’t usually engage or make it to appointments at our base in Union
Road (Stockwell). The Employment Project officer has led on this and formed a
relationship with Mitie who are one of Lambeth’s contractors. Mitie were keen to
engage with Workwise and offered support as part of their community investment
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initiative. They allocated a brokerage manager to attend the work clubs who focused
on IAG sessions and referring tenants to Mitie’s free training programmes. These
courses include Construction (including CSCS Card); Retail & Hospitality; Security
(including SIA badge); Music Production; Spectator Safety, Personal Track Safety.
Some of these courses include carrying out work experience and a guaranteed
interview.
In addition the Workwise team have used existing resources available to help residents
up skill themselves ready for the job market. These have included:
Referrals to employability initiatives/vacancies e.g. Lambeth Working,
Learning Works MI Comput Solutions, Getting Involved.
Get Set Go Project
Other welfare services such as SHP and Centre 70
The work clubs have proved to be a networking hub for tenants to engage with each
other and the team to engage with them on opportunities to improve employability
prospects.
Work Clubs have taken place at:
Berridge Community Centre – Gipsy Hill for the South area
Loughborough Centre - Angell Rd for the Central area
St Luke’s Hub – Kennington for the North area
In addition to 1:1 sessions the team are additionally offering a weekly employability
workshop at Union Road where tenants can access computers and have support with
applying for jobs.
Chelsea FC Recruitment
The Workwise team collaborated with St Mungo’s Real Confidence team who have
maintained an excellent working relationship with Chelsea Football Club since it began
employer engagement work in 2013. Chelsea FC is a major employer in Hammersmith
and Fulham, employing 750 Safety Stewards for each home game as well as large
numbers of people in a range of other roles.
This relationship enabled Workwise participants to have the opportunity to be part of
Chelsea’s annual hiring of Safety Stewards. Chelsea FC agreed to screen as many
candidates as we could put forward. We advertised the opportunity to our mailing list
and put 5 interested candidates forward.
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Despite the recruitment event and subsequent workshop coinciding with one of the
hottest days of the year, all five candidates attended. The event was informal and the
workshop was a real success, with clients getting involved and asking lots of questions.
A Real Confidence worker introduced the event, and the candidates then had the
chance to learn about Chelsea FC through a presentation from the Deputy Safety
Manager. The highlight of the session was a talk from a client who started at Chelsea
last year. He talked passionately about his enjoyment of the role and the positive
changes it has made to his life.
The session ended with an explanation of how to apply for the job, and detailed the
support that was available. The five Workwise candidates were supported to complete
the online application form. These were then submitted to the employer. The employer
then requested ID for each applicant, which Real Confidence workers went on to
acquire and submit.
4 out of the 5 referrals who interviewed were subsequently offered the job. For the 1
client that was unsuccessful we sought feedback and later discussed how they could
improve their interview skills for future interviews.
Real Confidence is in the process of negotiating similar opportunities with Fulham and
Tottenham Hotspur football clubs that will give clients another chance to access paid
stewarding work.
Case Studies
Client initials have been changed – no case studies to be reused without
consent/anonymity.
AB
For over 10 years AB has been working as a steward at Wimbledon dog track at race
meetings. This averaged out to around 11 hours a week paid work. Although this wasn’t
a substantial salary AB managed to get by with his earnings, a small amount of JSA
and support from Housing Benefit. However, with the introduction of the spare room
subsidy AB suddenly faced a cut of 25% in his Housing Benefit due to having two spare
rooms. The Welfare Solutions team worked closely with AB and discussed a range of
options including downsizing, mutual exchange, pay and stay as well as a lodger
scheme. As AB has lived in his home for over 33 years he was reluctant to move and
opted to take on a lodger to help him with his shortfall. This worked well for a few
months until his lodger was unfortunately made redundant, at which point he began to
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accrue arrears. The Welfare Solutions team promptly made a referral to Workwise for
AB to receive employability support. It was also agreed for Workwise to give limited
support to the lodger and support her back into work.
AB had already made a claim for JSA as he was under the threshold of working hours,
but desperately needed to secure full time work and was at real risk of losing his home
due to the shortfall. Workwise supported him to improve his IT skills, aiding him to enrol
on a college course, undertake interview techniques training and develop a strong CV
together – developing different versions and cover letters to suit the varying roles he
was applying for.
AB worked very hard and was determined to succeed, coming in to meet with the
numerous team on occasions and putting himself forward for a range of brokered
jobs. He was recently successful in gaining a full time job at Homebase in Wandsworth
as a Warehouse Operative. This was brokered through the Workwise partnership with
Olmec Empowering Communities.
AB Quote: “Thank you so much to the Workwise team – they have helped me so, so
much – I love St Mungo’s!”
KT
KT was referred to Workwise as he is spare room subsidy affected. He was previously
on Employment and Support Allowance, but was seen as fit enough to be moved to
Jobseekers Allowance and was therefore within the non-priority group. He has 1 spare
room (14% deduction in housing benefit) which he uses as a workshop to make craft
objects. KT is HIV positive but currently stable on his medication. KT made it clear from
his first Workwise meeting that he is currently too unwell to hold down regular
employment. KT was previously on the Work Programme but felt that they were unable
to support his needs and were reluctant to allow him to access any vocational skills
training over the 2 year duration.
KT has an interest in construction and recently completed a CSCS course attaining a
pass. He has a very keen interest in Carpentry and joinery and wet trades. Workwise
made a referral to Bricks and Mortar – the St Mungo’s bricklaying and plastering
training course. KT was offered a training place. The project has expanded and KT is
now undertaking Multi-skills training in addition to the bricklaying and
plastering. Feedback from the project team has been excellent and they were so
impressed that they offered KT a volunteering position, which he has attended
everyday arriving at 8am with enthusiasm. He is a keen cyclist and rides in on a daily
basis.
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KT has a history of homelessness so is very vulnerable and at times is has been short
of money for food so Workwise has given him food bank vouchers and signposted to
benefit and debt support organisations. Following the training, KT will be in a much
better position to apply for wet trade work and we will work closely with Lorna at
Lambeth Working to facilitate this.
Update 3 months on
KT is still volunteering with the Multi Trade Team. KT likes the people and is having
fun. He says:
“I have gained a routine and it gets him out of bed every day. There is the feeling I
have upgraded my skills. I am eating better and get a free lunch every day.”
“Beside the Multi Trade centre there is another St. Mungo’s training scheme for people
that wish to learn how to build and maintain a bike. I have completed the 6 week course
and received a certificate.”
“I would like to thank the government for the bedroom tax to some extent. If it wasn’t
for this I would never have been able to get involved with St Mungo’s and their support
projects.”
Going forward KT as a volunteer will be eligible to access the internal staff training at
St. Mungo’s.
PG
PG met with Workwise in the first week of the contract. She was experiencing
disruptive sleeping patterns due to concerns around her debt and arrears due to the
bedroom tax. She had also recently completed a programme of detox from alcohol.
She was extremely really positive that she had been able to stop drinking but said she
was struggling having nothing to do and was desperate to find work – she desperately
wanted to keep hold of her flat - finding employment and something meaningful to do
was crucial to her recovery. She had lots of past cleaning experience but no CV. We
worked on building this up (lots of detective work ringing past employers for dates!). In
the end the CV looked great. Through the St Mungo’s Employment team we were able
to secure an interview for a cleaning role at the British Library. She was depressed
that she’d put on weight since she’d stopped drinking and none of her old clothes fitted
– we referred her to Smart Works – they provided her with appropriate attire for the
work environment – she was so pleased with her new look. She was nervous about
the interview so travelled up the day before to Euston to make sure she knew how to
find the employer. She secured the job and has had great feedback from the
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supervisor Jeff after her first month. The Lambeth Housing Management progression
fund paid for her weekly bus passes to help her manage until the first monthly pay
cheque arrived. The position was originally a paid work placement of 3 months but the
employer has been really impressed by PG that they have now made it a permanent
paid position. As it is just under 16 hours she is still able to claim ESA – and the money
will make a significant difference. She will need to find more hours though in the long
term – we have referred her to an evening cleaning role brokered through Lambeth
Working and she is preparing for that interview. We also referred her to CAP
(Christians Against Poverty) who we met at the Lambeth Money Champion training –
an advisor has visited her in her own flat to help make sense of the debts and advocate
on her behalf. She says it feels like a huge weight has now been lifted. We also
referred PG to SilverFit – exercise sessions for over 45s in Brockwell Park – she says
the exercise gives her confidence and energy. She is proud to tell her friends she is
working. Well done PG!
CW
CW was the first tenant to enrol with Workwise. He was really keen to find work and
was very passionate about one day becoming self-employed. CW had a long forensic
history – he had been released from prison within the last 12 months and had over 50
past offences. He told the Work Coordinator he was fed up of this cycle and wanted
to turn his experiences into something positive. He had become very interested in non-
violent communication techniques (NVP) and wanted to use his experience of being
an offender to help others. We told him about AVP – Alternatives to Violence Project
and he immediately wanted to sign up. He did a series of workshops at their Old Street
Office (CW put in £20 of his own money and the progression fund paid the remaining
£80). He successfully completed these and is now training at Level 2 to become an
AVP facilitator himself. He wants to become a workshop leader running courses to
help people learn non-violent methods of communication and to avoid conflict. He has
also attended a Building Better Relationships course, meditation and healing courses
and the ‘Become a Recovery College tutor’ course at the St Mungo’s Recovery College
in Southwark. The Work Coordinator also referred him to Tree Shepherd (he has
completed their 10 week business start-up training) and he has also been meeting with
St Mungo’s volunteer Business Consultant, Adrian Saull for 1-1 support.
Workwise also referred him to the Employment Advice team (STAR project) at St Giles
Trust in Camberwell who specialise in placing those with offending history in
employment. They have assisted him with an excellent letter of disclosure and helped
him draw out any positive experiences that he can put on his CV. His long term dream
is to be a self-employed workshop leader and trainer but in the short term he is
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considering catering work as he has some experience of that and St Giles Trust
continue to support him to get into this.
The Work Coordinator has also referred him to Hestia’s Get Back on Track peer mentor
training at Southbank University which he has successfully started. He is also in the
process of completing a doing a poetry appreciation course at Morley College and we
continue to refer him to any artistic/writing opportunities as he has a passion for writing
too and would love to write a play about overcoming violence.
His next step in June is to present to a panel of ‘dragons’ at the St Mungo’s business
start-up fund – he will pitch his idea in the hope of getting £500 towards getting his
business started. He is very committed to learning new things and moving forward
positively with his life.
Quote from CW by email:
“When I got out of jail after spending 3 months on remand last September I was on the
verge of losing my flat and was feeling quite suicidal over a relationship break up. I got
connected to Workwise through a Housing Officer at Lambeth Housing Management
and as a result I am in a much better space emotionally. With their help I have achieved
many things. I attended Anger Management/conflict resolution courses; Got my CV
sorted; attended writing groups and a load of other stuff. I love my coordinator’s
professional, no-nonsense, bang on it; highly competent yet absolutely friendly style.
They keep in contact and keep me regularly updated with opportunities. They’re
angels.”
FL
FL worked for many years as a catering assistant but was made redundant two years
ago and has been struggling ever since to get back into work. She has mild learning
disabilities and has found this a real barrier as she hasn’t been able to access the right
type of support for her. The Work Coordinator has worked with the Lambeth Integrated
Disabilities Team, Rathbone and the tenant’s sister to try and access the right type of
employment support for FL. Lambeth Working will soon be offering specialist learning
disability employment support with the Camden Society but in the short term
signposted us to ‘Get Set’. The Work Coordinator accompanied FL to an appointment
with an advisor from Get Set as she was very nervous. The meeting went well and
this advisor is now working closely with two employers in order to find a suitable work
place for FL where she can use her skills. She has been successful in getting some
seasonal work at the Kia Oval which she is delighted about but she continues to seek
longer term more secure work. We expect that she will make an excellent employee
as she is hardworking and motivated and we are hopeful that we can find a supportive
employer now with the multi-agency support we have behind her now. FL didn’t have
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a mobile phone and this was proving a barrier in her job search. She has been
supported to get a ‘pay as you go’ phone through the progression fund. As she often
feels anxious going to new places for interviews for example this has really helped as
she can ring for support if she gets lost.
TD
TD recently secured part time retail work. Whilst she was pleased to be off of JSA, as
she was working only 16 hours on quite low pay she was still finding money a real
struggle. She would love to get into better paid work in admin but when applying for
jobs in this area she was unable to get progress beyond the application form stage to
being offered interviews interview as she didn’t have any experience. She had
previously completed a business administration course but found that she was losing
these skills as she wasn’t able to utilise them. The Work Coordinator through an
organisation we have close ties with, Poached Creative, organised a voluntary
administration work placement which TD could undertake in conjunction with her retail
hours. She interviewed successfully (she was also referred to Smart Works for
interview clothes) and is now well into the placement. She feels she is building up her
skills and will soon feel confident to apply for administrative jobs as a result of this
experience on her CV and references.
DA
DA had very high arrears at point of referral and was at risk of eviction. She met with
Workwise who supported her with her CV helping her draw out all her skills and
experience. She felt very low about job searching and that she wasn’t getting anywhere
– she was also very worried about her housing situation. With support, she succeeded
in getting part time work in a children’s wear shop in Balham. She really liked the new
work and securing the role had given her confidence a boost but her housing remained
at risk as she wasn’t earning enough or doing enough hours. The Workwise team
continued to put her forward for new opportunities and she was recently successful in
securing an additional part time job with a cleaning firm through Lambeth Working’s
brokerage. The hours fitted well around her existing work and she is now working 30+
hours so is eligible for Working Tax Credits. The Progression Fund is covering her
travel to zone one for the first month of work and she is also being assisted to obtain
a laptop through the fund – she has contributed £10 (a lot of money for her) and the
fund will cover the rest. She is delighted with her new jobs and feels hopeful she will
get herself back on her feet and retain her home.
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MB
Prior to joining workwise I was going to the JCP and I went on an IT course. I knew my
weakness was IT and I wanted to improve it so I could get better at applying for jobs.
So I asked at the JCP for IT training. They referred me to the South Thames College
to do basic course. I found the teacher wasn’t very patient with us. I felt it wasn’t the
right place for me to learn. My advisor at the JCP suggested another course with a
different teacher in the same college and this one was better as the teacher made me
believe I could achieve something. I tried to apply for jobs and went for an interview
with an agency and I didn’t want to take the risk of not having enough work regularly.
So I turned it down as I got into problems before with my rent and nearly lost my flat
due to inconsistence wages. I received a letter in April 2015 and inviting me to meet
the Workwise Team. I met a lot of people at the launch all different ages and I knew
some of the people. I then I met Louise my Work Coordinator and she said she would
get in touch with me to arrange a one to one session. . I found the workwise team top
of the range, my coordinator had so much confidence in me, when you are unemployed
for a while you start to feel low, I was out of work since 2013.I lived on my redundancy
package for a year and then when that was gone I had to sign on. I didn’t want to sign
on as I had done that in the past and I knew from the previous experiences that it was
going to a bad experience.
My main obstacles were learning how to use the computer to apply for jobs. As I
learned more I started to gain confidence and I was meeting with my coordinator as
often as I could. She helped me with job applications and taught me how to target my
CV per job. As I got more support, my confidence grew and I started getting interviews
and I eventually was offered a part time job on June 29th in Catering and I have been
there ever since. I am better off working because I can pay my rent, and I don’t feel I’m
going to be threatened with repossession of my flat as that’s what was happening
previously as my rent was in arrears. I was affected by the bedroom tax.
I am more settled now, my family and friends can see the difference in me especially
my sisters as they were very worried about me. I am now trying to decorate my flat so
that I can make my home homely again and be more comfortable.
If I could offer advice to other job seekers it would be to take any help that is offered
by the Workwise Team, take it don’t think it is nothing, try it out and keep doing
something rather than do nothing. Something must turn up as it did for me.
Client initials have been changed – no case studies to be reused without consent/anonymity.
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Learning Works
Workwise have formed a strong link with the Lambeth Housing Management Residents
Engagement team led by Mark Howarth – we have attended Resident Engagement
Forums and are working closely with Resident Liaison Officers to promote Workwise
and share opportunities. The team have directly referred clients into the Learning
Works programme – some have gone on to do the CIH Housing Level 2 qualification,
the Award in Teaching and Education (formerly PTTLS), youth work training, DIY, book
keeping training and IT at the digital hubs.
The team would like to strengthen this relationship going forward and make sure RLOs
and TRAs are all aware of Workwise and signposting eligible clients.
Lambeth Working and JCP Lambeth
Lambeth Working are Lambeth Council’s job brokerage team who broker jobs for
Lambeth Residents with Lambeth employers and contractors.
The Welfare Solutions team have built a strong partnership with Lambeth Working.
There are regular partnership meetings and Lambeth Working see providing welfare
reform affected tenants as a priority for their job brokerage service. We have also
attended their networking events where we have been able to meet with many other
agencies that Lambeth Working also support.
Clients with skills and interest in construction have been referred to Lorna
Burley and her team
With regard to other types of vacancies (for example the roles at Shrek World,
Interserve Cleaning, Guys and St Thomas’s and so on) we have worked with
Joanna Busz. Her team has expanded and Joanna now has a deputy.
We have recently formed a connection with Neasha Clark (Lambeth Working’s
Ex-Offender Employment Coordinator – she is supporting several of our clients
closely at the moment.
JCP – Davina Blake is on secondment with Lambeth Working from JCP and
has been a supportive partner. She has been doing job outreach surgeries
with Workwise clients and is an important link.
The Workwise team has built links with specialist drug and alcohol leads in the
job centre, the specialist Lone Parents’ worker, Frankey Jones, and various
advisors both at JCP and various Work Programme Providers including Ixion,
Prospects, Renaisi, the Shaw Trust and A4e. Workwise see working together
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with JCP staff to support clients as crucial to success. If we work together to
support clients we can achieve so much more.
Lambeth Working have also asked the St Mungo’s Workwise team for specialist
support and advice with regards to clients they work with who have faced street
homelessness or other housing related issues. The team is always willing to share
expertise and knowledge in this area with all our partners and feel this strengthens our
relationship even further.
External Partnership Working
This was a brand new project so we did not have existing links or partnerships at the
outset. We have worked hard to build new relationships, network with other agencies,
and create a diverse range of opportunities and partners that our clients can benefit
from.
Employer Partnerships:
Breyers – we have continued to strengthen this relationship (established by
former Lambeth Housing Management Employability Officer, Pete Murphy).
We have worked closely with Dean Drinkel to organise two interviews for our
clients. One client, SA, was successful and started an Admin Apprenticeship
with Breyers in March. He has sustained this job for over four months now and
is really enjoying it – we continue to offer him regular in-work support.
Mears – we have worked with Nick Barker at Mears’ Care Division to put
forward good candidates for their care roles (home care work based in
Lambeth). Two of our tenants have started work with them and we hope to
keep a strong partnership with them going forward.
Edwards and Ward – this agency manage all schools catering work in the
borough of Wandsworth – we have initiated a relationship with them and
continue to refer clients in to posts with them. Through them we have also
started to work with Harrison Catering.
Westminster Home Care – this is another care agency we have started to
work with who are actively recruiting.
Employ SE1 – we are a referral partner for this organisation who broker jobs
for Lambeth and Southwark residents with four Business Improvement Districts
(BIDs) based in SE1.
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Other employers who we have worked with to place clients in work: The British
Library, Guys and St Thomas’s Hospital, Homebase, Chequers Cleaning and the
Kia Oval.
St Mungo’s Skills and Employment
Tenants registered with Workwise have been able to access other opportunities
available from the wider St Mungo’s Skills and Employment team. These include:
‘Roll On Monday’ three month paid work placements with a number of law
firms including BPP Law School, Freshfields LLP, Clifford Chance LLP and
Shearman and Sterling LLP to name a few. These placements are paid at
London Living Wage. 3 Workwise tenants have undertaken placements so far.
Real Confidence have a longstanding relationship with Chelsea FC – they have
provided many stewarding opportunities for our clients and recently employed
4 Workwise participants.
1 Workwise tenant secured permanent cleaning work at the British Library (a
relationship brokered by the St Mungo’s Employment team). 2 others secured
further cleaning opportunities in schools.
8 Workwise tenants have been training in Construction as part of our Bricks
and Mortar project, Painting and Decorating, Multi-skills and the ReVive
social enterprise, now operating from Southwark.
Many Workwise tenants have enrolled with the Recovery College in
Southwark where over 70 free courses are offered, from yoga and meditation
to psychology and poetry. All travel is paid for clients who attend the college –
it is a relaxed and informal environment but for many can be the first step into
learning and many go on to accredited courses afterwards. You gain stamps
for each class you attend and when you reach 10, you get £100 towards a
course of your choice at City Lit.
Our female Workwise tenants had access to a specialist women’s grants to
help them achieve their work and learning goals. Several Lambeth Housing
Management tenants attended the Women’s Wellbeing and Employment fair
where they got to meet with a wide range of ETE providers.
We have a dedicated Business Start Up team based in Southwark. 7 Lambeth
Housing Management tenants have met for 1-1s with our volunteer Business
Consultant. He can support and mentor clients who aspire towards self-
employment – giving guidance on business plans, cash flow, tax and book
keeping, marketing funding and more. Experts also run specialist workshops
and networking meetings. Two are applying to the Business Start Up fund
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where they will present their ideas towards a dragon’s den style panel of
investors (corporate supporters of our charity) – they can apply for up to £2000
to help them get their business going. A new business start-up hub opens soon
in our Skills and Employment dedicated space in Southwark – Workwise
tenants will all be encouraged to use this. A dedicated space where tenants
can come and work on their ideas and get both peer and staff support. One
Workwise participant has recently been awarded £1000 towards his business
start-up idea from the dragons.
Tenants have also been referred to our PAL Scheme (Peer Advice Link) and
our Apprenticeship scheme which both support those with experience of
homelessness or being vulnerably housed to get into support work and use
their personal experiences to help others.
17 Workwise participants have been referred to the Basic Skills team and
Cedars Community College for support with functional skills: literacy,
numeracy and IT. One particular Lambeth Housing Management tenant is
getting help with her reading and writing two days a week. She states that she
has always struggled with reading (left school without any qualifications) and
has hidden this her whole life.
“It’s a relief to finally be doing something about this. It’s limited me so
much, there are so many jobs I can’t even think about because of my
reading problems – I hope this will change.”
We refer some tenants to the Wellbeing Centre in Wix’s Lane, Clapham. They
can access positive activities, relaxation and alternative therapies. This has
been and invaluable resource to our Lambeth Housing Management tenants
who often feel low in confidence due to health issues, unemployment or worries
about money and housing.
Other Partners:
We’ve referred clients to and used the following agencies to help secure opportunities
for clients:
Olmec – this partnership has results in 2 Workwise tenants getting jobs with
Homebase
Groundwork – working with the team has led to several interviews for clients
in facilities/warehouse work. 1 has led to permanent driving work for a
Workwise client
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Step Ahead- several clients have been referred to this agency and been
supported to take part in retail and hospitality training with a guaranteed
interview at the end.
Young People
Tomorrow’s People (based in Kennington) – we’ve formed a relationship with
this organisation who provide intensive support to NEET under 25s. Although
not a significant part of our client group – we have supported a number of
Lambeth Housing Management tenants who are ‘non dependants’ in a
bedroom tax affected household so organisations have been very useful to
refer into.
Prince’s Trust (South London) – the Work Coordinators have attended
networking opportunities with the Prince’s Trust. Any clients meeting the
criteria can be referred to their Fairbridge and Team programmes. Two
Workwise clients aged under 30 have been referred to their Enterprise support
training for help with their self-employment goals.
Spear – another organisation for young people offering employment support
based in Clapham Junction – have supported one client to get their CSCS card.
Local Partnerships
High Trees – we regularly refer into the classes already offered at this training
provider in Tulse Hill. The Workwise team have met with High Trees to plan
some specialist training for our client group. In the summer they will be offering
their Discover Your Potential confidence and goal setting course for our
Workwise tenants exclusively.
Tree Shepherd – this organisation provide free business start-up support and
ongoing mentoring to Lambeth Residents who want to set up their own
business. We have visited them and provided training to their team on benefit
entitlement. We refer clients to their support and get good feedback.
MI Computer Solutions – offer a range of training including English, Maths,
and IT courses.
Advance 360 – offer business start-up support and confidence building for
unemployed people
Lambeth College – we have created a contact at the college so we receive
updates on all employment/employability related opportunities.
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Morley College – we have visited the Community Outreach team at Morley
College – they are willing to run employability or any other type of course they
offer on their main site for our clients at community based venues. We hope to
avail of this by using the Lambeth Housing Management digital venues
Rathbone – we’ve made links with this organisation who support adults with
learning disabilities. We have one bedroom tax affected bedroom tax affected
client who has needed their specialist support. We’ve also been working with
Get Set regarding adults with learning difficulties and this has led to the client
in question having two interviews.
Eaves – 2 Workwise clients have been affected by Domestic Violence issues
and the education and employment support offered by this organisation in
Kennington has been great as it is a very supportive and understanding
environment targeted at women. Sadly this project has now ended.
The Work Exchange Streatham – we’ve built a connection with this
organisation who offer low cost food hygiene and first aid training.
Blackfriars Settlement – this Southwark based organisation also offer food
hygiene training and our clients have been able to access this through our
advocacy.
Clean Slate/Handy Help – two clients have been inducted with this local social
enterprise based in Stockwell. They are now registered handypersons with
Handy Help and will get adhoc handyperson jobs.
St Giles Trust – based in Camberwell. Their STAR programme supports those
with offending history to access employment opportunities many which have
been especially brokered. Two Workwise clients are using this service and
successfully secured.
Other Partnerships (Beyond Lambeth)
Smartworks - 20 clients have been referred to this excellent service for women
in Islington and Ladbroke Grove which provides free interview outfits including
shoes and bags as well 1-1 interview coaching. This has made a substantial
difference to clients’ self-esteem and really makes them look the part! They
have been an invaluable resource to Workwise delivery.
Suited and Booted – we are a referral partner for this interview clothing service
which is for men. They have been an amazing, seeing tenants at short notice
to kit them out for interview.
Freshlife – 4 Workwise tenants have been referred to this catering programme
run by the Beyond Food Foundation in Southwark. Clients learn about healthy
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eating, get work experience in a top restaurant kitchen and shop for produce in
Borough Market and get specialist employment support to get a job in the
catering industry.
Free2Learn – we have referred clients to forklift truck driver and security SIA
training at this Croydon provider (they have other sites across London which
our work and learning team also refer to).
UR4 Driving – 2 Workwise clients have been referred to this driving lesson
scheme which offers 26 free driving lessons for those with offending history.
Many clients are interested in driving and driving related jobs but the cost of
lessons is often prohibitive so this is a great programme.
AVP – 1 Workwise client has completed Level 1 and Level 2 training with the
Alternatives to Violence Project – he has a long history of offending including
convictions for violence. He is very keen to turn his life around and use his
personal experience to help others. He will now be able to facilitate his own
workshops on non-violent communication.
Back On Track Hestia – this is a peer mentoring scheme for those with
offending history run at Southbank University. One Workwise client has
completed it – looks great on his CV!
Homeless FA – we have historic links with this organisation and have been
able to promote their training to Workwise clients. They support clients to gain
a Level 1 award in sports leadership as well as experience of playing at a top
Premiership club! All participants also get a chance to try out for the Homeless
World Cup!
Margins Project – a catering project in Islington for those at risk of
homelessness – 1 Workwise client referred.
Ace of Clubs – Ace of Clubs is a family-like community providing
transformative support for those who are homeless, vulnerable and otherwise
marginalised in our area. They have provided CIEH accredited Food Hygiene
level 2 training 8 Workwise clients.
Remploy - We have applied to become a formal referral partner for this
specialist organisation who support long term sick and people with disabilities
into employment opportunities.
Progression Fund
Lambeth Housing Management provided a progression fund of £10,000 for Workwise
tenants which was administered by the Workwise team. Clients normally applied to
the fund for up to £150 per person, for help to remove financial barriers which may
have held the client back in their journey into employment. The client makes a small
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contribution that they can manage – an amount of their choosing - and the Progression
fund covers the rest of the cost. The clients are asked to make a contribution as it
shows commitment from them and as well as from us and also this allows the fund to
reach more clients. For example, one client wanted to purchase a set of Purdy paint
brushes as he is a trained painter and decorator but didn’t have these items – he
contributed £5 and we paid the remaining £47.99. Another client wanted to do a course
that cost £100 – he contributed £20 and the fund covered the remaining £80. All clients
were encouraged to access the fund. Examples of items the fund was used for are:
The cost of DBS checks
Driving licence / renewal
Essential ID (e.g. if you don’t have passport/birth cert and this is required for a
job)
Equipment for job /course you want to do
Course fees
Travel costs – e.g. for interviews / for first month of a new job until first pay
cheque received
Uniform/specialist clothing
CSCS cards
Mobile phone if you don’t have one or top-up for employer contact
Laptop/Desktop PC’s
Stationery - folders/diaries etc.
Materials for course
Specialist software
Disability aids to improve access to work
Work Support Packs
The Work Coordinators have used the Progression Fund to put together a Work Pack
to help all clients who register with the service. This pack includes an A5 2015/2016
diary, folder, display folder for certificates, a list of what is on offer for clients registered
with St Mungo’s, information about Lambeth and London wide ETE opportunities, CV
advice and templates, and job search sites.
We came up with this idea as we realised many clients did not have stationery to help
them get organised with job searching. Clients are really happy with the packs.
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Digital Inclusion
Initial data and our experience with tenants informed us that digital literacy was a
significant support need amongst Welfare Reform affected tenants. We recognise how
important digital literacy is to any job seeker and how it is also extremely important with
the roll out of Universal Credit.
We ensure:
All new Workwise tenants get support and assistance to set up an email
account
We provide informal IT support in our 1-1 ETE sessions
We hold weekly group workshops using 12 refurbished laptops purchased
using the progression fund
Tenants are signposted to Digibuddies sessions which run across Lambeth
including in Lambeth Housing Management digital hubs
We refer clients to IT classes at MI Comput Solutions, High Trees, City Lit and
Lambeth College
The progression fund has been used to help clients access refurbished laptops
from [email protected] and to pay for Microsoft Office suite for clients to
install on their own computers in some cases.
Our [email protected] partner Ecosystems IT have been extremely generous to
Workwise with their effort and delivery of equipment over the year. They have a strong
community ethos, supporting 28 tenants with refurbished IT equipment which included
laptops and PC’s. They also provided 12 laptops for the team to deliver employability
workshops to Welfare Reform tenants. Workwise are really pleased with this
partnership and hope to grow this area of our work in the future.
Mentoring
The St Mungo’s Mentoring Work and learning department matches clients with a
suitable volunteer mentor with professional experience. It is a one-to-one non-
judgemental relationship meeting on a regular basis for a time-limited period of 9
months. A mentoring relationship gives clients the time, space and environment to
openly discuss any areas they feel they would like to improve and create a plan and
strategies to achieve these goals. We try to match clients with mentors with similar
interests or who work in an industry/sector the client would like to get into.
We have identified two clients for this programme and they will start receiving support
from their mentors in Quarter 2 of the Workwise project.
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Health
Many of our Workwise tenants have been unemployed for a considerable amount of
time which can often leave them feeling low and depressed. We have found that sport
and physical activity can make a positive difference to how people feel about
themselves. We encourage our clients to access free opportunities such as SilverFit
in Brockwell Park, to go to the St Mungo’s Wellbeing Centre in Clapham for
complementary therapies and other Wellbeing activities. We have also encouraged
many clients to register with the Lambeth Leisure Pass scheme where they get
considerable concessions on gym and fitness classes in the borough (many didn’t
know this existed). We also encourage clients to obtain other offers that they are
entitled to such as discount oyster card if they are on a work related benefit and in
some cases a Freedom Pass.
Food bank
Workwise is an official referrer to the Lambeth Food bank. For some of our clients who
are really struggling with a financial crisis at that moment this can really help. It can
lessen the load for our job seeking clients who often have a lot on their mind. We have
visited the West Norwood Food bank to learn more about how they operate and ensure
we make appropriate referrals. We provide vouchers to those clients who are most in
need. The second Foodbank is based in Ferndale Road, Brixton.
SHP Tenancy Support, Centre 70 and Money Champions
SHP Tenancy Support and Centre 70, also work on contracts with Lambeth Housing
Management and support Welfare Reform affected tenants at Union Road. We have
developed close links with them and work jointly to refer and support clients. The Work
Co-ordinators have attended SHP’s team meeting to promote the service to the
support workers and work alongside Kasia from Centre 70 on Wednesdays and
Thursdays. This has been an invaluable resource, as our clients often have significant
housing, benefit and debt problems which can make it hard to focus on employment.
Partnering with organisations such as these means we can offer a more holistic service
where clients can obtain support and progress in their lives.
The Workwise team have trained to become Lambeth Money Champions (an initiative
run by West London Mission at St Luke’s Hub in Kennington) – this means we are well
informed about various debt and money support in Lambeth and signpost clients.
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Tenancy Sustainment
The majority of tenants referred to Workwise had significant arrears due to the shortfall
in housing benefit due to the bedroom tax deduction and have faced pre eviction and
eviction panels and in many cases court proceedings. Other clients are managing to
stay on top of their rent but still desperately struggling financially. For those that
engaged with employment support, the risk of homelessness has greatly reduced. As
stated in the introduction, of the 198 households worked with over the year 100%
maintained their tenancy.
Other Workshops
First Aid
We have worked with the British Red Cross First Aid for the Homeless project to
deliver a ‘Save a Life’ first aid session for tenants at Lambeth Housing Management’s
Union Road offices. 13 tenants attended the workshop and everyone who attended
said they now felt more confident to help someone in an emergency situation. For
many attending, the training session was a great refresher of skills and for others, it
was totally new, but all will be adding to their CVs. Several will be supported to go on
and complete an accredited Emergency First Aid at Work qualification at external
training providers – This will prove particularly useful to those wishing to work with
children or in care sector.
First Aid Session Union Road 2015
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Other workshops focus on interview skills and job search techniques. We are also
working with other partners to deliver these.
CV Workshop at Renton Close 2015
Workwise staff & Welfare Reform Team at Lambeth Housing Management