New support to give homeless people ‘basic building blocks’ for work
16 Apr 2014 01:01 PM
Pilot scheme to give the most vulnerable
homeless people the right skills and training to get into
work.
A
new pilot scheme will give the most vulnerable homeless people the right skills
and training to get into work, Housing Minister Kris Hopkins and Skills
Minister Matthew Hancock announced today (16 April 2014).
The
ministers said the government is determined to test different ways of
delivering support to the most disadvantaged people who want to work, but lack
the basic maths, English and other skills that are vital when applying for
jobs.
The
London STRIVE (Skills, Training, Innovation and Employment)
pre-employment programme will initially help 100 single homeless people over 2
years. The scheme will address key barriers to employment, providing 50 people
a year with the right skills and opportunities to have an independent future
without the need to rely upon local services and benefits.
Over the course of a programme designed with their
particular needs in mind, participants will build up their basic skills in IT,
maths and English and get their confidence to a level that will open the doors
to further training helping them move out of homelessness into
work.
STRIVE, run by homelessness charities Crisis and St
Mungo’s Broadway, will work alongside Jobcentre Plus to identify those
who would benefit most from the scheme.
Daniel Howard-Trickett, one of the first people to join
the new initiative at Crisis, said:
I
have been out of work since the end of last summer, having previously worked as
a kitchen porter. Since then I have been looking for something that could help
me to progress in life.
Learning computer skills and embedding it with English
and maths will hopefully enable me to do that and to get a job and succeed in
life.
Housing Minister Kris Hopkins said:
This government is determined to help vulnerable people
tear down the barriers that prevent them from finding a job.
Many homeless people simply want to work hard and get on
in life, but finding work is a real struggle if you don’t have basic
skills in maths, English and IT.
That’s why we are supporting
the STRIVE programme, which will help ensure the most disadvantaged
people have opportunities to build up their skills and gain confidence, so they
can move forward with their lives and start to live
independently.
Skills and Enterprise Minister, Matthew Hancock
said;
I
can think of few better uses of education funding than to support English,
maths, and IT skills for homeless people. It is wrong that until now excellent
education projects led by St Mungo’s Broadway and others have been denied
government funding - today we are putting that right. There is no doubt that
charities like St Mungo’s Broadway and Crisis are best placed to reach
those in need of help, but we are backing them in this vital
task.
Leslie Morphy, Crisis Chief Executive
said:
The
crushing experience of homelessness leaves individuals feeling very vulnerable.
At Crisis we offer dedicated and specialist support to help people turn their
lives around, build new skills and confidence and ultimately find work. This
new pre-employment programme will help us reach more people, getting them back
on their feet and leaving homelessness behind.
But
while our services have long been successful they have always struggled to get
mainstream funding. It is vital that as well as helping individuals we use this
programme to capture what works and ensure the lessons are fed into employment
programmes and funding to ensure all homeless people across the country get the
help they need.
Howard Sinclair, Chief Executive of St Mungo’s
Broadway, said:
STRIVE will be a vital stepping stone for people in
need of tailored specialist support around literacy, maths and IT as they
search for work. The people we see at St Mungo’s Broadway do need this
additional support and we are delighted their particular needs have been
recognised. It is about giving people a chance to succeed and rebuild their
lives, rather than being knocked back from the start.
Further information
- STRIVE is funded jointly
by DCLG and BIS. A total of £297,330 will be invested over
the 2-year pilot. DWP are working with Crisis and St Mungo’s to establish
referrals onto the scheme.
- The
charities will work alongside Jobcentre Plus to identify suitable individuals
to join the programme, and continuously measure progress towards employability.
The scheme will be supported by all four Job Centre Plus London
districts.
- A
skills and employment training schedule has been developed with capacity to
work with up to 50 homeless clients per year.
- Crisis and St. Mungos’s Broadway are both being
funded to work with clients to develop basic skills in English, maths and IT,
as well as developing essential employability skills according to each
individual’s needs and aspirations.