Published: Wednesday 9 March 2022
Four new dedicated employment support programmes are being launched in North Kensington to help residents who have been impacted by the Grenfell tragedy to boost their skills, confidence and career prospects.
The ‘Community Works’ project has been co-designed with North Kensington residents to identify and meet their employment needs, as part of the Grenfell Recovery Strategy. Through face-to-face meetings, workshops and two Grenfell Community Assemblies, two projects have been commissioned with local providers; ‘Into Work’ and ‘Build Yourself Up’.
These will provide a total of four programmes over the next two years, with targeted support for different groups within the community.
Cllr Catherine Faulks, Lead Member for Economy, Employment and Skills said:
“Ensuring that our communities have access to quality employment opportunities is incredibly important, especially for residents who have faced trauma and hardship following the Grenfell tragedy.
“Community Works has been developed directly with our North Kensington residents and we’ve heard from them about how they would like to improve their confidence, skills and career prospects. These new programmes offer a range of dedicated support to help our residents prepare for work and to reach their goals.”
Into Work will be delivered by the St Giles Trust and provide personalised advice through dedicated advisers to give residents guidance and direct support into training or jobs. This programme will be available over the next two years with targets to:
- work with 180 North Kensington residents
- provide detailed individual support (6-10 hours) for 150 North Kensington residents
- assist 70 North Kensington residents into employment, and a minimum of 50 sustained for six months
Into Work is set to launch in April 2022 at St Giles’ Trusts’ office at Thorpe Close W10. Delivery and outreach work will also take place at local community centres which will be discussed with participants.
Build Yourself Up will offer three targeted, confidence-building programmes for 25 residents per course in its first year, from March 2022. These are:
- Women’s Confidence Programme delivered by the ClementJames Centre for North Kensington women who may be isolated and lack support networks
- Connecting with Confidence delivered by Nova New Opportunities for all North Kensington residents of all ages and abilities with tailored support
- Build your Confidence: Know Your Worth delivered by ConnecMe2 is a series of workshops over eight weeks for young North Kensington residents of working age 16 to 24
Residents who are interested in taking part in the Into Work programme can contact the St Giles Trust for more information, eligibility, and how to apply via [email protected].
Eligible residents can find out more and how to apply for the Build Yourself Up programme which best suits them at:
• Nova New Opportunities, Telephone 020 8960 2488, or Email: [email protected]
• Clement James Centre, Email: [email protected]
• ConnecMe2, Telephone: 020 30867872 or Email: [email protected]
For further information on Community Works, the programmes, eligibility and more please visit: https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/grenfell-response-and-recovery/progress-grenfell-recovery/grenfell-recovery-strategy/employment-and-skills or get in touch with our Employment and Skills team at [email protected]