Our Projects on Employability and Training
We are currently running the following projects:
Work Programme Hackney
Job Centre Pluse Support Contract: Wembley and Harrow
Living History, Moving People: High Street 2012
Awards for all: Whitechapel
UK Online: Whitechapel
ESF Families With Multiple Problems with REED: East London (Whitechapel & Hackney) and West London (Wembley & Harrow).
Living History, Moving People: High Street 2012
The project, Living History, Moving People was awarded a Level 2 grant, and in collaboration with the aims of Tower Hamlets Council, the Heritage Lottery Fund, and English Heritage, is a project which ultimately aims to reveal, record, and celebrate both the people and places of the Tower Hamlets section of the High Street route. It’s a project which both explores the area, and promotes what we believe to be its most salient features; its history, and its people. Living History, Moving People takes participants on a walk across a thousand years of the area’s history, in order to bring this history to a section of people who have lived for a large part in the shadows. I’m talking about our very own pioneers; the first-generation women immigrants to our country.
So, Living History, Moving People has three aspects to it. The first aspect, titled ‘Walk Across Time’, will see our group embark upon a tour of local English and cultural heritage sites.
The second aspect to Living History, Moving People, will be a ‘Walk Across the World’. This will be held at the London Muslim Centre, and will see the various countries and cultures that surround the High Street route celebrate the history of our diversity, from exhibitions on henna designs and Islamic calligraphy, to African dress-making. We’ll set the stage for representatives of all community groups to offer displays and designs that are emblematic of the area, that we can all come and enjoy.
The third and final aspect of Living History, Moving People, will be our celebration of International Women’s Day, through our Whitechapel iExplorer event. This will aim to record the thoughts of those who have grown up in the area using digital technology, as well as propelling them into the digital age by teaching them to access local services on the internet. We will also get their thoughts on the changes that the area has undergone since the time they first moved into the area.
Our hope for this project is that it will bring groups of people who don’t feel that heritage is for them, and who have become or are in danger of becoming isolationist, to realise how much we should treasure what we all have, and to celebrate it. We think it’s really important that we get this group of people especially, to understand and feel connected to the area they are living in. So we are hoping that from this project, we can encourage people, when they are walking through the streets for example, engaged in the hustle and bustle of daily life, to be able to stop for a moment, and to look around them and to recognise and appreciate the rugged beauty of the area and its buildings, and to feel that they have a share in the history of the area, and are contributing to it, just by being there.
WeI think all people should be proud of where they live, and Tower Hamlets especially so. Yes, like all areas, it has its good and bad bits, but above all else, we should recognise that we have become one of the most vibrant and dynamic areas in the country, and so we’re going to try to show that, no matter what age we are, or our level of civic engagement in the past, we’re all keen to get involved if we have the support. And so we hope this project can act as a catalyst for increased knowledge and understanding of heritage, greater inclusiveness, and better cross-cultural understanding.
Last Year's Projects are:
Flexible New Deal – Central London
SmartMove support for LLDD learners
Employment Zone ESOL programme – Manchester
Flexible New Deal – Birmingham
FRF has continued to successfully deliver the New Deal programme in Hackney in partnership with Working Links. Our employability programme lasts for 13 weeks during which we use a wide range of tailored initiatives to get our clients into employment. These range from CV writing and work placements to industry specific courses.
In partnership with TNG , this LDA funded programme is deliverd by a consortium of eight providers targetting unemployed and economically inactive individuals in South London. The programme provides work experience, accredited and non accredited training, mentoring, jobsearch, IAG and in work support as well as referring clients onto further education. The programme is particularly exciting and innovative as it moves away from pure job brokerage and encourages the delivery of a host of interventions to a single client. This approach as been very successful and as a result the performance targets are high.
Flexible New Deal – Central London
FRF Hammersmith is running a project for unemployed people from BAME backgrounds to support them to find sustained employment. The project provides training on key job skills such as CV writing, interview techniques and job search methods as well as individual support for clients in their job search.
SmartMove support for LLDD learners
FRF Hammersmith is running a project for 14-19 year olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) and who have learning difficulties and/or other disabilities (LLDD). Through this project learners can gain accredited qualifications in literacy, numeracy, IT or Personal & Social Development. In addition to the training, learners are supported to find work placements and to progress into employment, further education or training.
This training project, delivered in partnership with A4E started in January 2009 and provides English language support to low earning parents. FRF is responsible for outreaching to parents and delivering entry level 1 and 2 ESOL classes to parents in Tower Hamlets, London.
We also have jobsearch, job brokerage and work placement elements on this program which aims to encourage these clients to move into sustainable employment. We have so far delivered to 29 clients.
Work Skills
The Work skills project aims to support clients who are motivated to find employment by providing employability training and guidance in order to help clients secure long term work. The services that we provide are as follows:
- Intensive job search
- interview skills
- CV building and speculative letter workshops
- Help with application forms
- Confidence building
- Work placements
This project is being delivered in Haringey from our centre located in Bounds Green. We also have the option for clients to attend our Literacy classes in the Mitalee centre, located in Turnpike Lane, which offers crèche facilities but is restricted to women only.
The Skills for Work programme aims to help clients who are primarily focused on developing their basic skills in Adult Literacy and Numeracy, by enrolling clients on accredited learning programmes that are delivered by a tutor and are classroom based courses.
This project is being delivered in Haringey from our centre located in Bounds Green. We also have the option for clients to attend our Literacy classes in the Mitalee centre, located in Turnpike Lane, which offers crèche facilities but is restricted to women only.
Employment Zone ESOL programme – Manchester
In partnership with Working Links we have been delivering this English language, DWP funded, training project in Manchester since August 2008. We provide support to pre entry ESOL clients through a 13 week ESOL course interwined with a job search and job brokerage element which aims to break down the barriers to employment and move these clients into work. This project has been very successful and we have delivered the provision to over 90 clients.
Flexible New Deal – Birmingham
FRF as a specialised organisation is working with Seetec in Birmingham and Solihull to deliver Ethnicity Intervention provision under the Flexible New Deal Contract. The aim of the Ethnicity Intervention is to give a customer the necessary support required to overcome an ethnicity barrier that may be holding them back from gaining a sustained job outcome. With our experience and knowledge we are supporting the clients to overcome these barriers. This supportive approach of FRF helps a customer get over whatever barrier they face and get them one step closer to a sustained job outcome.