Written evidence submitted
by Royal British Legion Industries
INTRODUCTION:
Royal British Legion Industries (RBLI) has engaged
a number of young unemployed individuals through the Future Jobs
Fund scheme. These young people have worked in various Divisions
through the Organisations; in most cases RBLI has tried to match
them to specific projects relevant to their education, qualifications
and career aspirations. In total RBLI created 20 opportunities
for Future Jobs Fund participants, three of which were unsuccessful
mainly due to motivation levels of the participant. Of the remaining
17, two have been supported by RBLI to get permanent jobs in other
organisations, three have been offered permanent jobs within RBLI
and the remaining 12 are still working on their specific assignments.
For RBLI and the FJF participants we feel that this has been an
extremely positive experience, giving participants the opportunity
to develop work based skills and experience, the absence of which
was influencing their ability to compete effectively in local
labour markets. It has also provided RBLI Managers with an opportunity
to mentor and support FJF participants to help increase their
employability.
OVERVIEW OF
FJF:
In order for participants to gain maximum benefit
from the Future Jobs Fund, it is imperative that the co-ordinating
organisation manages the scheme effectively to ensure effective
job matching and ongoing monitoring. As well as reporting to a
divisional line manager for day to day activities, RBLI provided
an in house co-ordinator who had over-arching responsibility for
the welfare and development of all participants. Many of the participants
came with little or no work experience, a real lack of understanding
of work place etiquette (timekeeping, communication, behaviour
etc) and low confidence levels. For RBLI, the impact of this was
minimal as the organisation delivers employment related programmes
which support individuals with disabilities and health conditions
to find work. We were therefore well placed to offer the support
and development that FJF participants required to flourish and
the feedback we have received along with our observations of distance
travelled for these individuals is clear evidence that in this
environment FJF has been successful. Individuals have had opportunities
for vocational training as well as participating in personal development
workshops to improve confidence levels and self esteem.
SUMMARY:
From our experience and observations, the Future
Jobs Fund offers real opportunities for young, unemployed individuals
to gain valuable work experience not just to demonstrate to employers
via their CV in order to increase their chances of selection for
interview, but also to improve their confidence, work based skills
and work ethic. However, in order for both parties to gain the
most benefit from FJF it is key that the employer buys into the
concept of real work experience and personal development, that
the scheme is effectively monitored by the co-ordinator and that
the individual makes the most of opportunities for training and
personal development that the employer may be able to offer. Without
these factors there is a danger of this scheme being exploited
and the FJF participant gaining little tangible benefit in terms
of increasing their employability and chance of sustaining long
term employment.
10 September 2010
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