NEWS: Schemes to help people back to work need to learn the lessons from Building Better Opportunities
As national government steps up its drive to tackle ‘economic inactivity’, councils and combined authorities are being urged to learn the lessons from recent programmes to support those with the most complex barriers to finding work.
Groundwork has published a new report that highlights the need to fill the gap left behind by the Building Better Opportunities (BBO) programme which it has helped deliver in local areas across England.
Building Better Opportunities, funded by The National Lottery Community Fund and the European Social Fund, supported initiatives that improved the social mobility of people experiencing complex barriers to employment via bespoke projects designed and run by local community and voluntary sector organisations.
The programme provided a platform in which local organisations could work in partnership to offer tailored support based on a person’s individual need, in turn breaking down the barriers that stop people getting into employment and instilling equal focus on the importance of wellbeing and personal circumstance as part of the approach.
Groundwork has been one of the organisations at the forefront of Building Better Opportunities – managing eight regional programmes and contributing to the delivery of a further five stretching from Durham to the south coast and supporting in total around 12,000 people.
The charity argues that the key lessons learned through the programme – the need for patient, tailored and flexible support provided by ‘coaches’ and linked to a range of ‘wraparound’ support – should be embedded in programmes now being developed by councils and combined authorities through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and other funding sources.
Building Better Opportunities enabled us to help people needing significant encouragement and support to overcome the challenges preventing them from finding work. The nature of the funding meant that we were specifically able to target those people in greatest need and work patiently with them as they navigated the pandemic and, in many cases, started to turn their life around. As these programmes come to an end we would urge those designing and commissioning new local programmes to draw on these valuable lessons and urge the Government to do likewise as it develops its plan to boost participation in the workforce
Graham Duxbury, Groundwork’s UK Chief Executive
In Coventry and Warwickshire, the BBO Progress programme supported over 1,100 young people by offering tailored, one-to-one support via a dedicated Progress Coach alongside access to a variety of youth organisations offering holistic, health and wellbeing and employment support as part of the partnership. As a result, 806 young people progressed into employment, training or a structured job search. In London, Ali was supported by the BBO Elevate programme.
I wish employers would offer more internships and apprenticeships that can support us into careers, even for those older than 25. We just need more opportunities to express our ability.
Ali, BBO Elevate participant
Leanne was a participant on the Towards Work BBO programme across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.
Everyone’s circumstances are very different and some more complex than others. This is what the Towards Work programme recognises. Me and my children now have a stable home and I am working thanks to the programme. We still have challenges, but life is so much better and Towards Work has played a big part in that.
Leanne, BBO Towards Work participant
Across England, over 12,000 people have taken part in BBO programmes managed or delivered by Groundwork Trusts, with the programmes collectively involving more than 50 partner organisations across the public, community and voluntary sectors.
Notes to Editors
For more information please contact: media@groundwork.org.uk
About Groundwork
Groundwork is a charity working locally and nationally to transform lives in the UK’s most disadvantaged communities.
We’re passionate about creating a future where every neighbourhood is vibrant and green, every community is strong and able to shape its own destiny, and no one is held back by their background or circumstances. We help people gain confidence and skills, get into training and work, protect and improve green spaces, lead more active lives and overcome significant challenges such as poverty, isolation, low skills and poor health: www.groundwork.org.uk
About the National Lottery Community Fund
The National Lottery Community Fund is the largest community funder in the UK – we’re proud to award money raised by National Lottery players communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Since June 2004, we have made over 200,000 grants and awarded over £9 billion to projects that have benefited millions of people. We’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.
About Building Better Opportunities
The BBO project has received funding from The National Lottery Community Fund and the European Social Fund as part of the 2014-2020 European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme in England. The Department for Work and Pensions is the Managing Authority for the England European Social Fund programme. Established by the European Union, the European Social Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support skills development, employment and job creation, social inclusion and local community regenerations. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding.
