Programmes

Programme 1: Back-to-Work Programme

"We went through interview techniques time and time again, with my advisers telling me what was positive and what was negative. At first I was really nervous but over time that changed….I hope my story will encourage other people to accept help and not to give up." Pauline Kirlew, aged 39, participant on our Back-to-Work Programme

Back-to-Work focuses on one-to-one support and mentoring provided by our specialist employment advisers to support the long-term unemployed back into work. We provide this service through our operation centres across the UK and numerous outreach facilities.

The support programme starts by working with each person to develop an individual action plan, setting out the tailored training or other help they need to build their skills, and get them to a job-ready stage. This is supported by CV writing advice, help with job application forms, intense job search including guidance on local jobs, free access to newspapers and stationery, confidence building, interview techniques and basic computer skills.

We specifically target people with health issues arising from disability, long-term and mental illness, injury, drug and alcohol abuse. Our advisers are based in over 80 doctor’s surgeries, health centres, pain clinics and hospitals across the UK. Patients are referred by the GP, health visitor, nurse or counsellor or can self refer.

There are no time limits to our support. For some, the journey from unemployment to work can be short; for others it’s a much longer road. We will help a person for however long it takes, so long as they remain committed to finding work. As an independent charitable trust, we can also devote more time per appointment to each individual, typically meeting with them for 45-60 minutes - JobCentrePlus allocates 14 minutes to similar meetings.

To read case studies on our Back-to-Work programme click here

Programme 2: Support for Young People

Our two main programmes for young people are Working It Out and the Schools Employment Adviser programme. We help disadvantaged young people shape a productive future by providing practical and focused support.

While thousands of youngsters leave school and move on to college, university or jobs, there are many who leave without skills or qualifications, personal goals or ambitions and with little hope of employment. Without intervention this group can become dependent on benefits, unable to contribute to the society they live in and, in some cases, turn to drugs, alcohol and crime.

Working IT Out

"For every £1 invested in the programme, £3 worth of value is delivered to society in terms of reduced welfare costs and increased tax take (£1.60) and reduced costs for the criminal justice system" Nef evaluation of Working IT Out pilot progranmme, 2004

Working IT Out helps socially excluded young people to gain practical work experience and life-management skills through a series of community initiatives. The aim is to help disadvantaged young adults find work, education or training in the long-term.

Supported by a Tomorrow’s People leader and co-ordinator, small groups of young adults aged 16+ undertake local projects that benefit the community and improve the environment. Projects include renovating community centres, cleaning up graffiti, etc. The team work and planning supports other skills they learn on the programme.

An independent evaluation of a Working IT Out pilot project in Tower Hamlets was carried out by the New Economics Foundation (nef). In brief nef concluded that the programme had:

a positive impact on the educational and employment potential of those who had participated in the programme
enhanced participants’ self awareness of their personal qualities and skills
given participants more opportunities to succeed on their own terms.

For a copy of nef’s evaluation report click here

To read a case study on our Working IT Out programme click here

Schools Employment Adviser programme

We work specifically with young people in danger of leaving school with no formal qualifications, and therefore less chance of finding a sustainable job. This programme involves placing Schools Employment Advisers in schools to mentor vulnerable young people. We also use the school environment to offer our employment support service to parents and the wider community, providing a range of employment programmes and other initiatives. We are collaborating on this project with a number of consortia involved in the Government’s Building Schools for the Future programme.

Programme 3: The Junction and Social Enterprise Businesses

Without effective and targeted support, many people with a criminal record will never become economically dependent and re-enter society. Instead, they’ll continue on a cycle of crime with no way out.

Home Office research shows that having a job reduces the likelihood of re-offending by up to 50%. Tomorrow’s People is, therefore, developing a number of new projects to break this cycle:

The Junction – a dedicated residential project that helps ex-offenders and other socially excluded people to train and work in businesses run by the project. To find out more click here for a short film or click here for a prospectus
Social Enterprise Businesses – the journey from unemployment into work can be very tough. A staged approach is needed, including a supportive employment environment to help these people develop their skills and confidence. We are therefore developing a number of social enterprises – businesses that trade for profit but recognise their social mission to provide an intermediate step for those in need. An adviser provides one-to-one and group support to ensure that people working within these social enterprises can graduate into long-term work.
Tailored Back-to-Work programme for ex-offenders - we increasingly encounter people who have multiple and complex barriers to overcome before they can get a job. For example, we work with the Probation and Prison services and provide programmes to help ex-offenders into work. We can also offer support for people in custody or serving community sentences to ensure they are employable on release. We can provide training opportunities through our social enterprises to equip them with the right skills to get back into work.
Pre-employment programmes - We provide a specialist programme for offenders which helps them develop life-management skills and gain practical work experience through a series of community enterprises. The aim is to give offenders an employment history, to help them break the cycle of custodial sentences, re-offending and re-addiction. The programme helps offenders develop team work, communication, self-confidence and discipline, personal finance and budgeting skills. All of these will have a positive impact on the educational or employment potential of those who’ve completed the programme on release from prison.

To read a case study of our work with ex-offenders click here