Promoting employment & training
RENEW is helping to ensure that its investment in the housing markets of North Staffordshire maximises the regeneration impact, and that local people and companies benefit both directly and indirectly from the investment.
Commitments to recruit staff and source materials locally are very difficult to enforce legally, and require both carefully working and the dedication of the partner organisations. RENEW has developed a set of benchmark clauses, set out below, and as part of their appointment to our procurement panels, our partners have promised to work with us on this issue.
The organisation will use best endeavours to:
- Have 30% of its employees who are solely involved in the project living in areas which have RENEW post codes and 70% of its employees solely involved in the project living in areas having Staffordshire post codes; and
- Have locally sourced apprentices during the course of the project, who will be trained through a combination of the Newcastle and Stoke on Trent Colleges; and
- Have 50% of its sub-contractors (by value) employed in the project placed with businesses with a RENEW post code and 50% of its sub-contractors (by value) employed in the project placed with businesses with a Staffordshire post code; and
- urchase 40% of all materials used in connection with the project (by value) from suppliers whose principal place of business is in an area with a RENEW post code and 60% of materials used in connection with the project (by value) from suppliers whose principal place of business is within an area with a Staffordshire post code.
In order to support RENEW’s work, there are a number of services for people seeking work and wanting to improve their skills. Many of these services focus on RENEW’s areas of major intervention (AMIs), which are areas that need a concentration of resources to help create communities where people will want to live and work.
These services include:
The JET Service (Jobs Enterprise Training)
JET offers a jobs brokerage service across North Staffordshire. The service aims to link unemployed people to job opportunities, providing training and other support as necessary. Services include:
- employment support, including CV writing and help with interviews
- skills for life, including literacy and numeracy
- free vocational training, linked to job opportunities
- specific support to access certain employment sectors, including health, social care and construction
- four-month work placements for long-term workless customers – the placements not only provide a wage, but also offer training opportunities to develop further skills
- JET customers may be able to obtain grants for childcare, clothing, transportation, equipment and other costs while they are seeking work, to cover the costs of training and interviews
The JET Service currently operates:
- JET Business, based in the city centre, which offers a recruitment service for employers
- four Community JETs, based in Bentilee, Blurton, Burslem and Knutton
- outreach venues, which currently include Meir, Stoke, Shelton, Biddulph and Chesterton. We hope to expand this service. For further details on the outreach services, please contact the JET on 0800 731 8587.
Support for Self-employment
We offer a range of support services to help JET customers become self-employed and start their own business. This includes:
- business coaching to help to start a business, built around the individual and is completely community-based. Contact BizFizz in Burslem (Carolyn Powell 07917 013297), or Business Enterprise Services for support in Longton and Stoke (01283 537151).
- small grants to start a business, or develop an existing small business, are available through Business Initiative, on 01782 202222.
- test-trading, which allows an unemployed person to try out a business idea while remaining on benefits or through receiving a small allowance. For more information contact Business Initiative on 01782 202222.
Volunteering
Volunteering opportunities in the workplace are a good way of easing people back into work, especially those who have never worked or have not worked for a long time. Volunteering can include on-the-job training and is a great way of putting work experience on a CV. For more information please contact the Volunteer Centre on 01782 683030.
PM Training
Established in 1982, PM Training is a social enterprise operating across both private and public sectors, providing high quality training and employment opportunities.
With a focus on tackling worklessness among young people, PM Training offers more than 800 training and employment opportunities every year. During 2008, PM Training was the most successful training provider in Staffordshire.
PM Training has so far assisted more than 9,000 people into sustainable jobs, apprenticeships and NVQ training - helping more than 250 companies to benefit from increased productivity and staff retention.
With access to more than 60 highly skilled employees, PM Training provides well-equipped on-site workshops and state-of-the-art training facilities. Further information can be found at http://www.pmtraining.org.uk
For more information about how RENEW's investment in the North Staffordshire housing market is benefitting local businesses, click here.
