Luton Borough Council
Location: Luton, East of England
ESF Funding: Luton Borough Council CFO
ESF Target Group: Young people/people with disabilities
Luton Borough Council is an ESF Co-financing Organisation in the East of England which is currently delivering twelve co-financed projects. Ten of these are Priority 1 “extending employment opportunities” projects, which tackle the barriers to work faced by unemployed and disadvantaged people. Below are just two examples of how projects in Luton have motivated local people to overcome their barriers and find work.
Young Adults into Work
The Young Adults into Work project in Luton is funded by the European Social Fund and Luton Borough Council and delivered by Kennedy Scott Ltd. It offers a motivational programme to help local young people, aged 19 to 24, to find sustainable paid employment through a support and advice programme.
One participant who has benefited from the project is Chris, who joined the project in March 2012 after a period of four months without a job. Chris had A-levels in philosophy, psychology and business studies but believed he lacked relevant qualifications, experience and transferable skills to find sustainable employment, despite having had jobs in bars, restaurants and as a sound engineer.
Chris thought his interview skills were letting him down and his employment adviser at Kennedy Scott, Patrick Hyde, worked with him on this through interview preparation modules and mock interviews. After four weeks of support from his employment adviser he had a new IT qualification, improved interview skills, and a new CV prepared to highlight his range of skills and experience.
Chris was now growing in confidence and starting to form long term career goals. With support from Patrick, Chris applied for IT based apprenticeships and other vacancies. Near the end of his eight week support programme, Chris was invited to an interview with Tesco at their Dunstable store for the position of Tech Adviser. Chris was successful at interview and started work there at the beginning of May 2012. Within three months Chris was promoted to Tech Support Team Leader at Tesco and is now involved in the recruitment process at the store.
Chris commented “Kennedy Scott has been extremely helpful and beneficial to me, giving me the skills and confidence not only to get into work but to help me on the path to a life career choice.”
Patrick Hyde, Employment Adviser at Kennedy Scott added “Chris had shown great enthusiasm whilst attending Kennedy Scott, his level of commitment shows he is destined to go far in life. I’m very pleased for him.”
Employment Support for Adults with Disabilities
Another Luton Borough Council ESF co-funded project is Employment Support for Adults with Disabilities which is being delivered by Shaw Trust. The project supports adults in Luton who are facing barriers to work because of physical, learning or mental health difficulties. Participants are given targeted one-to-one advice and support to help them to move into paid employment.
Shaun had been out of work for 25 years before the project helped him into employment in the security industry. With the support of his employment adviser Abdul, he used an online system called “Adult Directions” which identified work as a security guard as a suitable form of employment. Shaw Trust organised for Shaun to attend a vocational course for the security industry, and Abdul identified a list of potential employers in this sector. Shaun also received support in CV development and job search and interview techniques, all of which he found very beneficial.
After passing his course he secured a number of interviews and finally was offered a full-time job at MITIE (a strategic outsourcing and energy services company) on a permanent contract.
“This has changed my whole life around and I am forever grateful for Abdul’s and Shaw Trust’s help,” says Shaun.