09 September 2009 – Publication of DWP Research Report 598 – The evaluation of Partners Outreach for Ethnic Minorities: Final report

The Partners Outreach for Ethnic Minorities (POEM) programme began in March 2007 and continued for two years until March 2009. It supports people who are non-working partners in low income families. Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Somali communities are the main target groups, with a particular focus on women.

The ultimate aim of the programme is to move clients into work, however, it was recognised that some clients would be a considerable distance from the labour market, and may not have obtained work by the end of the programme. POEM is delivered by contracted providers in ten designated areas, six of which are in London, with the others in Birmingham, Bradford, Leicester, and Manchester.

Providers used teams of multi-lingual outreach workers from the same ethnic backgrounds as the target client groups to engage clients. One of the key factors which determined their success was the extent to which providers were able to locate, build and maintain suitable links in the community. Developing these contacts and support networks  were vital to the success of outreach, and needed a long lead time to develop.

Outreach activities are a successful way of engaging this client group. POEM providers attracted 85% of the number of people they were targeted to engage with. The number of job entries was 2,835. It was, however, difficult to maintain a focus on the core client group.

As well as job entries, clients achieved greater confidence and motivation, increased awareness of job opportunities, jobsearch skills, interview skills and improved English language skills.

Overall, factors which contributed to POEM’s success were: creative outreach strategies; making clients feel comfortable; a wide range of provision to choose from; employer networks and flexibility. For the individual, tailored advice and one-to-one support was a key element of POEM and drew all other aspects of provision into a coherent whole.

Notes to Editors

• POEM was a two-year project funded between March 2007 and March 2009.
• The research was carried out by the Institute for Employment Studies.

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