Residents and employers in Shoreditch are benefiting from a pioneering
job brokerage service that should reap long-term benefits across
the local community.
The project is managed by Talent recruitment under their
@Work banner and they have put in place a number of formal
and informal partnership arrangements with local providers
such as JobCentre Plus, NHS Trusts, Business Link, Hackney
College and voluntary groups, all of whom champion the scheme.
By acting as a brokerage service between clients and employers,
the project helps local people move from welfare into work
and also assists those who wish to move up the career ladder
into better-paid jobs.
It is proving a great success for both local residents and
employers. Since @Work opened in January over fifty Shoreditch
residents have been helped into jobs, including seven people
who had been out of work for more than two years and the numbers
of people using the @Work agency are increasing daily.
Funding for the project has come from the New Deal for Communities
(NDC) programme, set up by the Government to tackle social exclusion
and create vibrant, sustainable communities. Resources are focused
in small neighbourhoods that are suffering most from deprivation
and enables joint working with other initiatives within the area.
Government Office for London plays a vital role in approving NDC
grants and overseeing the management of the partnerships that run
the programmes, ensuring projects meet the needs of the local people.
Lord Falconer at the opening
In Shoreditch, £284,122 has been spent on purchasing
a 125-year lease for the agency and fitting it out which will
provide an asset for the NDC area in the longer term. A £93,000
NDC grant has funded the service until March 2002 and a further
£161,546 has been approved to run the project to March
2003. The aim is for the Shoreditch scheme to gradually become
self-supporting.
One client who has been successful in finding employment
said:
'The @Work team helped me immensely; they took into account
what I'd been through and helped me regain confidence....it's
great to be back at work as it gives me confidence and a good
wage'.
Shoreditch @Work is one of a large number of schemes funded by
NDC in London.
