Employment and skills

Into Work – Employment advisers working in the community

Description of support

This will provide personal advice from dedicated and qualified employment advisers. Funding will enable one-on-one access to employment advisers for individuals, informed by personalised action plans. Advisers will help and support residents towards and into work and provide ongoing contact once in work.

Which needs does this address

• A person-centred offer that reflects my experiences and needs, especially when I am vulnerable
• Pre-employment support to rebuild confidence and motivation especially for those recovering from difficult life situations
• People who have had to leave or lost jobs because of Grenfell can receive relevant support that meets their unique needs, acknowledging their skills and barriers they face

Estimated budget

£140,000 - £200,000 for 2 years

Estimated outcomes

• 150 - 200 residents engaged
• 120 - 160 residents benefitting from skills development
• 40 - 55 residents into employment

Ready for Work – Job preparation and mentoring

Description of support

This project will develop a programme of talks and events with employers and mentoring support, including recruiting and training local mentors. Mentors will work with project participants to help prepare them for employment.

Which needs does this address

• Young people need extra support
• A person-centred offer that reflects my experiences and needs, especially when I am vulnerable 
• Pre-employment support to rebuild confidence and motivation especially for those recovering from difficult life situations
• People who have had to leave or lost jobs because of Grenfell can receive relevant support that meets their unique needs, acknowledging their skills and barriers they face

Estimated budget

£60,000 - £100,000 for 2 years

Estimated outcomes

• 15 - 25 employers engaged
• 180 - 300 residents benefitting from employer sessions and opportunities
• 30 - 50 residents becoming mentors
• 60 - 100 residents benefitting from mentoring and networking

Build Yourself Up – A confidence building programme

Description of support

This project will feature workshops to build the confidence of participants. These could be held alongside organised activities for further development such as gardening, cooking, IT and creative skills. This will aim to develop confidence and motivation, with coaching.

Which needs does this address

• How to convert volunteering into paid work   
• A person-centred offer that reflects my experiences and needs, especially when I am vulnerable
• Pre-employment support to rebuild confidence and motivation especially for those recovering from difficult life situations
• People who have had to leave or lost jobs because of Grenfell can receive relevant support that meets their unique needs, acknowledging their skills and barriers they face

Estimated budget

£40,000- £80,000 for 2 years

Estimated outcomes

• 80 - 160 residents benefitting from planned activities and confidence building

• 40 - 80 newly unemployed residents benefitting

• 25 - 50 positive outcomes into further learning or employment, following the programme

Run Your Own Business – enterprise bursary scheme

Description of support

The creation of an enterprise bursary fund to support business ideas that have been developed into viable business plans. Successful applicants would access start-up funding to launch their businesses.

Which needs does this address

• People who have had to leave or lost jobs because of Grenfell can receive relevant support that meets their unique needs, acknowledging their skills and barriers they face
• Support to start and run a business

Estimated budget

£40,000 - £60,000 to run a pilot

Estimated outcomes

• 20 - 30 new business start-ups supported​
• Network, events and mentoring programme developed
• Seed funding local approach piloted

Pathways Into Work – preparing for work in specific sectors

Description of support

This project will develop a pathway into agreed target sectors (such as health, finance, IT, green jobs). The project will develop links with employers to offer work trials and assist residents’ access to opportunities in those sectors.

Which needs does this address

• Work opportunities that fit around school hours
• How to convert volunteering into paid work
• A person-centred offer that reflects my experiences and needs, especially when I am vulnerable
• Pre-employment support to rebuild confidence and motivation especially for those recovering from difficult life situations
• People who have had to leave or lost jobs because of Grenfell can receive relevant support that meets their unique needs, acknowledging their skills and barriers they face

Estimated budget

£30,000 - £50,000 for a programme

Estimated outcomes

• 50 residents accessing pre-employment, sector-specific support per programme

• Employers creating work trials and similar local opportunities and benefitting from incentives

My Community Business – advice and expertise to develop or launch a social enterprise

Description of support

There are many people who wish to develop a business with a social purpose. This project will offer advice and guidance to turn ideas and ambitions into a social enterprise.

Which needs does this address

• People who have had to leave or lost jobs because of Grenfell can receive relevant support that meets their unique needs, acknowledging their skills and barriers they face
• Support to start and run a business

Estimated budget

£40,000 - £60,000 for a programme

Estimated outcomes

• 5 - 7 social enterprises starting up and developing

• Establishing a local support programme

Community Works Events Programme

Description of support

This project will facilitate a programme of events held within the local community, focused on employment, careers and motivational sessions. These would be run in community venues and in partnership with local agencies and employers.

Which needs does this address

• Pre-employment support to rebuild confidence and motivation especially for those recovering from difficult life situations
• People who have had to leave or lost jobs because of Grenfell can receive relevant support that meets their unique needs, acknowledging their skills and barriers they face

Estimated budget

£40,000-£60,000 for a programme

Estimated outcomes

• Local programme developed and delivered

• Referral route to other services established

• 25 – 37 residents progressing into employment or training

Work Tasters for Young People

Description of support

This project will set up a range of taster sessions where young people can experience what it would be like to work in various industries. Taster sessions could be developed for IT/digital, construction, mechanic professions for example. The tasters would be informed by what industries young people want to gain experience in.

Which needs does this address

• Young people need extra support
• A person-centred offer that reflects my experiences and needs, especially when I am vulnerable
• Pre-employment support to rebuild confidence and motivation especially for those recovering from difficult life situations
• People who have had to leave or lost jobs because of Grenfell can receive relevant support that meets their unique needs, acknowledging their skills and barriers they face

Estimated budget

£20,000 - £40,000 for one sector programme

Estimated outcomes

• 12 young people benefitting from tasters per programme

• Young people supported with career progression or sustainable next steps (depending on how many programmes are run)

Initial project scoping

Working with agencies and partners, the first stage was to identify the scope for this programme. This includes supporting people who have been affected by the Grenfell tragedy; who are unemployed or in insecure employment; to keep communities at the centre of this work and the project will be community-led. Alongside this, we acknowledged that we need to build trust and ensure there is regular sharing and feedback with the community and that the outcome of this project will be increased levels of good employment for people affected by the Grenfell tragedy. 

We brought together services from the Council, NHS, Department for Work and Pensions, Residents Associations and local voluntary and community organisations so that our solutions are truly joined-up and centred on meeting the needs of individuals.

Gathering evidence of needs

We have gathered evidence from people who we hope will benefit from these services – parents with young families; people who are vulnerable or who have special needs; and people who have been out of work for a long time. They told us what would make the difference for them and we began developing these ideas together.

Developing ideas together

In workshops and follow-up meetings, hundreds of ideas and suggestions were grouped into common themes. These were examined and those that received more mentions and endorsements have been summarised into potential projects. 

The potential projects listed on this page indicate the needs each project addresses and how much the project would probably cost, either for a two-year period or for a programme as described.  We now need to decide which projects to take forward with the funding from the Grenfell Recovery Strategy.

Covid-19 impact

The Covid-19 pandemic has slowed the progress in developing the projects through co-creation. The impact upon the economy and residents’ employment prospects means there is a greater need for support. The ideas developed under Community Works will be fed into the Council’s Covid-19 recovery planning and considered for implementation across the borough to assist residents needing assistance as the recovery from the pandemic develops.