Ready for Work. Business involvement and volunteering opportunities. Contents

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1 Ready for Work Business involvement and volunteering opportunities Contents About Ready for Work Volunteering at pre-placement training Providing work placements Job coaching Developing and delivering Client Support Network events Supporting Ready for Work Clubs 137 Shepherdess Walk, London, N1 7RQ T: President HRH The Prince of Wales Chairman Mark Price Chief Executive Stephen Howard Business in the Community is registered in England and Wales. Charity No Company No

2 About Ready for Work Ready for Work is Business in the Community s national programme that engages business to support disadvantaged groups, particularly people who have experienced homelessness, into employment. Born out of the Business Action on Homelessness campaign Ready for Work has supported over 2,700 people into work since Last year alone 316 people entered employment. Plus, recent analysis of the Social Return on Investment of Ready for Work indicates that for every 1 invested in the programme, 3.12 of value is generated for society. As well as homelessness either a past experience or a risk for their future the people we support face a range of challenges. These can include being in care, long term unemployment, criminal convictions and a lack of qualifications, amongst others. But everyone has something in common a strong desire to make a better life through work. We work with 160 businesses in 20 cities providing training, work placements and post-placement support to equip people with the skills and confidence they need to gain and sustain employment. Doing Ready for Work has confirmed to me that I can be an excellent employee, given the right opportunity - Ready for Work client, former rough sleeper The businesses benefit too. Ready for Work provides opportunities for cost-effective recruitment, stronger links with the local community and personal and professional development for employee volunteers 91% of volunteers reported improved relationship building skills because of their involvement. Businesses must not underestimate the power of Ready for Work. The pleasure our people get from helping someone change their life is enormous and translates into building a motivated and loyal workforce. - Barry Quatermass, IMS Director, Carillion The programme has four stages: Registration: Programme managers meet prospective clients, referred by agencies such as homeless hostels, probation and other charities, to ensure they are work-ready. Pre-placement training: Training takes place over two days to prepare clients for their placement, building confidence to succeed in the workplace. Companies host training and employee volunteers provide practical support. Work placements: Companies provide two week work placements, supporting clients with a trained buddy and offering constructive feedback. They provide a written reference to help clients in their future job search. Post-placement support: The Ready for Work club offers all programme graduates access to job coaches, job seeking support and further training. Companies provide employee volunteers to act as job coaches and deliver training. There are opportunities for companies like yours to get involved at each stage of the programme. This pack provides information on each point of engagement with Ready for Work. Practical details and examples of what other companies are doing will help you to decide how your business can best support disadvantaged groups into employment. Page 2 of 7

3 Volunteering at pre-placement training About pre-placement training Training is an essential part of the Ready for Work programme. Two days of training help to prepare people for their work placement, building confidence to succeed in the workplace. Topics covered include: Self-esteem Motivational skills Expected workplace behaviour CV and interview skills I went on the two training days and realised that this is my chance now, so I put everything into it. - Ready for Work client, Birmingham Your business can get involved by providing a room and/or employee volunteers for the second day of the training programme. Employee volunteers help people to begin their journey into work by: Taking part in training activities Drawing on personal experience to give practical advice on employment Offering friendly encouragement Through just one day of volunteering, your employees can break down some of the fears that people face when entering the workplace after unemployment. All volunteers attend a short briefing prior to the start of the training session. The briefing provides an introduction to the volunteers involvement in the day and to the issues surrounding homelessness. Volunteering at training is a great way for employees to learn more about Ready for Work and the people it supports before getting more involved. It has been an eye opening and valuable journey for me. - Employee volunteer 91% of employees volunteering with Ready for Work reported improved relationship building skills. Offering their support at pre-placement training is the first step towards these benefits. Kathryn s experience of volunteering at pre-placement training Kathryn, an employee at Bruntwood, had previously enjoyed helping friends and colleagues to develop their CVs. By volunteering at the second day of pre-placement training she was able to put her skills to use to support Ready for Work participants. Kathryn worked with Abraham to condense his CV to two pages. She then practiced some interview questions with him. Kathryn realised that Abraham was reluctant to sell himself. Just by pointing out some of his positive personal attributes and experience she was able to build his confidence. As well as having the opportunity to use her skills to help somebody else, Kathryn valued the new perspective that volunteering gave her when she couldn t identify volunteer from participant, she realised that homelessness could affect anyone and felt grateful for her own job and support networks. Page 3 of 7

4 Providing work placements About work placements Structured work placements provide invaluable experience for people facing barriers to work. Through a placement at a local company, people can build their CVs, develop key employability skills, improve self-confidence and gain references. Over 40% of people who complete a work placement through Ready for Work are successful in gaining employment, making a long-term difference to their lives. Winnie was clearly very focused on improving her life. When she came on placement she was determined to impress. - Project Manager, Library of Birmingham, Carillion You can provide two-week work placements in your company to Ready for Work participants. Placements involve structured tasks with real work not work shadowing. Participants are supported on placement by a trained buddy from your business. Through a two-week work placement, you can give people the recent experience they need to get into employment. All buddies from your company attend a training session. This prepares them to understand some of the issues faced by the people that we work with and prepares them to provide the necessary support during placements. You would also commit to working with Programme Managers to plan the placements that would work best for your company and our clients. From our experience of working with businesses to provide quality placements to disadvantaged groups, we can help to guide you with tips and best practice. Your company can make a significant impact on the lives of local people by providing placements. And you can benefit too, from greater employee engagement and cost-effective training for buddies. I feel nothing but pride and satisfaction from my involvement. Ready for Work is incredibly rewarding. - Employee volunteer Wragge & Co s experience of providing placements By running a small number of successful placements with highly motivated individuals in the most demanding legal team in the business, Wragge & Co demolished any preconceptions about homelessness and the types of people that can become homeless. Wragge & Co now offer placements in their support and legal teams, with senior lawyers in the business coming forward to offer placements in their teams. From offering one placement per programme in their Real Estate group once or twice a year, they now offer 4 placements in every programme. Due to the great support provided, 95% of people placed with Wragge complete their two week placement. Page 4 of 7

5 Job coaching About job coaching Job coaching is core to the post-placement support that Ready for Work offers. By providing the one-toone support and motivation that people need to help them to make the final steps into sustained employment, job coaches can make a long-term difference to people s lives. After a Ready for Work participant completes their work placement, they are carefully matched with an employee volunteer who: Provides support and advice Helps with CVs and interviews Helps to build confidence and resilience The job coach role is invaluable, as they talk with you, not at you, and they encourage as opposed to pressurise. - Ready for Work client, Birmingham Your business can get involved by offering the opportunity to job coach to your employees. This can be part of their volunteering activity, or an element of their learning and development programme. All job coaches receive one day s training. The training provides coaching tools and resources as well as information about the challenges faced by Ready for Work participants. Job coaches commit to meeting their coachee regularly, during work time, over a period of approximately 6 months. Of employees volunteering with Ready for Work: 91% reported improved relationship building skills 88% are better at maximising the performance of others 81% said volunteering improved their influencing and negotiation skills Your employees will need communication skills, empathy and dedication to become a job coach. But once matched with their coachee, they will then have the opportunity to develop their skills further whilst supporting people into sustained employment. It has helped me to identify the real issues in a situation, develop my problem solving and communication skills and drawn upon my leadership skills. - Job coach Julia s experience of job coaching Julia, Head of Global Sourcing Category Management at Carillion, had previously coached children but found job coaching for Ready for Work to be the most fulfilling voluntary role she had experienced. To begin with job coaching was a challenge Julia s coachee, Neil, had never been in work and was from a very different background. But once they began to understand each other and found a way to work together, their relationship went from strength to strength. Julia helped Neil to build confidence in his skills and harness his strong desire to work. After just a short time, Neil found a job with Julia s help. They continue to keep in touch to make sure that Neil has the support he needs to really make a success of his new job. Page 5 of 7

6 Client Support Network events About Client Support Network events Client Support Networks (CSNs) form part of the support that Ready for Work participants can access following their work placement. The events provide an accessible and friendly forum for motivational discussions and mini-workshops for clients who are still seeking employment, as well as those who have found work. The first few months in work can be stressful coping with new routines, finances and moving away from old social and support networks make gaining and sustaining employment difficult. The motivation, skills development and confidence building that comes from positive contact with peers helps people to make the transition into employment both successful and permanent. Your company can host a CSN event for hours, providing volunteers to support on the day. You can deliver an existing programme or develop an event yourselves, allowing you to share the expertise of your employees with Ready for Work participants. A CSN could be a tour of your business with a Q&A session about the sector, or a workshop on communication skills. Your local Programme Manager has a wealth of tips, resources and experience to guide you in planning a successful session. With the guidance of your local team, you would commit the time and resource to plan and prepare for a short event. By putting the time in to plan a single event or series, your volunteers have the opportunity to work as a team and develop their event and project management skills. I am delighted to have been given this opportunity I do not normally use project management skills or utilise my creativity in my everyday role, I have gained invaluable experience for my personal and career development. - Senior HR Assistant, KPMG Hosting a CSN is a great way for you to open your doors to people from your local area, allowing you to provide support for the community that surrounds your business.you can use the events to develop your employees through new experiences, practicing key skills and networking opportunities. Pricewaterhouse Coopers experience of delivering a CSN As part of their One Firm One Day initiative, which encourages employees to volunteer to support the community, PwC welcomed Ready for Work participants into their business. The event included ice breakers, information on employment opportunities in support services at PwC and short activities to develop listening skills and interview techniques. Representatives from reception, facilities, print room, post room, hospitality and catering and caretaking were all involved as they formed a panel and answered questions on their journeys into their current jobs. The varied agenda developed by PwC helped participants to understand and access local employment opportunities. It also gave employees at the business insight into the value of sharing their experiences to help others. By building a CSN into their own employee volunteering initiative, PwC helped to make a long-term impact on people s lives through a one off event. Page 6 of 7

7 Ready for Work Clubs About Ready for Work Clubs When you are looking for work, regular drop-in sessions can keep you motivated and focused. Ready for Work Clubs provide a forum for our programme graduates to meet on a regular basis. With practical support and informal training, people can access the help that they need, whenever they need it. After they have completed a work placement, they can access support and facilities at their local Ready for Work Club to: Work on their CV and prepare for interviews Search for jobs and find out about others work search experiences Learn more about work opportunities at local businesses Meet with their job coach We re just playing a small part in this, but when the people we supported found jobs, it was such a positive boost for our volunteers to see the difference they had made. - Caroline Stanley, Carillion who organises and promotes Ready for Work Clubs Your business can get involved by providing a room for a Ready for Work Club, giving the programme participants the boost of regularly entering a work environment. Your employees can also act as volunteers, individually or in groups. They can share their knowledge and experience to make a practical difference to people s journey into employment. Volunteers can attend regularly or at a one-off session. Your local Programme Manager can help you to develop a plan for their involvement. Whether you provide one volunteer to attend a Ready for Work Club hosted elsewhere, or a team of volunteers and a room at your office, you will provide a valuable contribution to the ongoing support to our Ready for Work participants. By explaining how someone can improve their CV, you can help them to focus and turn it around which gets them away from the constant cycle of applying for jobs and receiving no response. - Ready for Work Club volunteer Hosting or providing volunteers for a Ready for Work Club provides an easy, practical way to support the employment and employability of disadvantaged groups in your area. You can give your employees hands on experience of training and mentoring, developing their line-management ability. Carillion s experience of hosting a Ready for Work Club In Sheffield, Carillion makes a meeting room available at a regular time every week for a Ready for Work Club. Volunteers attend to support attendees with their CVs and job applications. Volunteers are primarily employees interested in developing their skills in HR and training and the Club gives them practical exposure to these areas of work. Carillion actively up-skill the employee volunteers too the volunteers have the chance to observe Carillion s own interviews, learning more about recruitment processes and enabling them to better support the attendees at the Ready for Work Club. It can be a challenge to keep the participants motivated. But by providing positive feedback and practical tips, Carillion have already seen two attendees gain work. Page 7 of 7