Mayor launches new partnership providing boost for jobseekers

Jobseekers in Stafford and surrounding areas are being offered even more help in their efforts to find work thanks to a new partnership between Stafford and Rural Homes (SARH) and Support Staffordshire.

The Mayor of Stafford Borough, Cllr Peter Jones, was amongst the first to offer his support for the new initiative when he helped to launch the ‘Work Club’ at Stafford Library.

The new initiative also has the support of Staffordshire County Council, which is providing Library space free of charge to the club where jobseekers have access to computers and other IT support to help them in their search for employment.

Alison Poole, SARH Community Involvement Officer, explained: “By joining forces with Support Staffordshire we can deliver more help and support at a central location in the heart of the town.

“Anyone can drop in on Mondays between 10.00am and 12.00 noon; they don’t need to make an appointment, and the service is completely free. A number of community volunteers are on hand to help people with job searches, CV writing and submitting online job applications.”

Whilst the Monday sessions are now up and running at Stafford Library, similar Clubs are planned across the town. From the beginning of February there will be Work Clubs at Holmcroft Library every Tuesday between 2.00pm and 4.00pm, and at Rising Brook Library on Thursdays between 10.00am and 12.00 noon.

Support Staffordshire has run similar Clubs across Staffordshire for many years, and can also help people improve their IT skills and access training and volunteering opportunities to further boost their chances of landing a job.

Rob Arnold, Employability Officer at Support Staffordshire, said: “It can be tough finding employment but we’re here to help.

“We’re delighted to be working with SARH on this exciting new Work Club, and building on the good work that’s already been done in Stafford to help people of all ages to find work.

“As well as assisting people to tackle application forms and finding vacancies using the internet, we can provide advice and information to help them manage other issues that may hinder them in finding a job.”

Pictured: The Mayor of Stafford Borough, Cllr Peter Jones, and Mayoress Joy Jones were special guests at the official launch of the Work Club and are pictured here with (left to right) County Cllr Maureen Compton; Work Club volunteer David James; Alison Poole, SARH Community Involvement Officer; Rob Arnold, Employability Officer at Support Staffordshire and Work Club attendee Michael Addison.

So what?  Working in partnership with Staffordshire Libraries and Support Staffordshire allows communities to get help and support on their doorstep.  Those without access to computers and the internet can develop their job searching skills

More for your money:  By working in partnership with other organisations we are able to add value to services provided in terms of skills and equipment offered at a variety of locations within Stafford and Rural Homes communities.

Health and Social Care Students from Stafford College help people to Branch Out

Three Befriender training sessions have been delivered to Health and Social Care Students at Stafford College to support the Branching Out project, helping people furthest away from employment into training, volunteering or employment.   Those trained as Work Buddies/Befrienders will work 1:1 with those referred to the project for support, advice and guidance to break down barriers, improve confidence to improve their employability.

Branching Out has helped 19 people take part in local training opportunities, 3 into volunteering and 8 into employment.

If you know someone who would like 1:1 support to improve their employability contact the Community Involvement Team on 0800 111 4554 or email cp@sarh.co.uk

So What? 

By working with Health and Social Care students of Stafford College those referred to the programme will be supported by volunteers trained in this field who are at the start of their career.

More for your money

By supporting those furthest away from the employment market improve their skills, confidence and employability and ultimately get into work we are supporting the local economy and improving health and wellbeing.

Portion Control

A study, from the British Heart Foundation, looked at 245 food products within popular grocery stores in the UK. They found, for example, a chicken curry frozen meal was 53% larger than it was in 1993. Some products have doubled in size and this has a direct impact on obesity levels in the UK.  If you want to separate the fact from the fiction and find out about how you can plan cook and prepare healthy meals that are the right portion size come along to our free six week course.

The course consists of:

Week 1 – What is a healthy diet? The importance of physical activity

Week 2 -  Menu planning and reading food labels

Week 3 – A virtual shopping tour

Week 4 – Bad fats and good fats

Week 5 – Understanding portion sizes

Week 6 -  Sugars/Cooking session (all ingredients provided free of charge)

The next six week block startsTuesday 2^nd March 2016 10am-11.30am (then every Tuesday for 6 weeks)

at

The Signpost Centre

Auden Way

Stafford

ST17 9TX

To book a place contact:

cp@sarh.co.uk or call 0800 111 4554

So What?  

By working with a nutritionist people can arm themselves with all the right tools to make decisions based on facts when planning, shopping and preparing healthy meals for themselves and their family.

More for your money

By working with people to look at their behaviours around food we can reduce household food budgets.

Growing Health 2016 Kick Start

Throughout January the SARH Community Involvement Team and Stafford Borough Council met with Growing Health participants to kick start the project for 2016.

Practical Chinese New Year Cookery Workshops were held in communal rooms near to each site. Everyone got together to learn how to make their very own healthy takeaway to take home and share with family and friends. The aims of the cookery sessions were to inspire plot holders to experiment with new interesting recipes using the produce they will be growing on site this year!!!

A very big thank you to Amar from iCookIndian for delivering such a great session!! Lots of fun was had by all and we received great feedback from the people who came along!!

The project will really start moving forward during February and March, ready for the launch of each site during Easter half term. Look out for our next Blog for the next update on the Growing Health Project

So What?

The Growing Health Project will give local residents the opportunity to spend time outdoors, increase levels of physical activity, develop their knowledge and learn new skills. The site will provided opportunities for people of all ages and increase community cohesion!

More for your Money:

Allotment sites provide local communities with a cheap, sustainable source of fruit and vegetables, therefore leading to healthier diets and improved quality of life.

Coming Soon: Community Learning Programme 2016

Over the past few months the Community Involvement Team has been working hard to develop this years Community Learning Programme (CLP). The 2016 CLP will be launched in April and run up to April 2017.

The new programme will have a fresh new look and be largely focussed around employment, training and tenancy sustainment. There will be a variety of courses including Confidence Building, Health and Safety in the Workplace and Dealing with your First Days at Work. Many of the courses offered are accredited, which will give attendees the opportunity to boost their CV with nationally recognised qualifications!

The courses will be promoted to appropriate groups, for example our Job Club and through external agencies. However, it would also be great to see people being referred through other areas of the business….so if you know a customer who may benefit from any of these free opportunities please share our CLP or come and see us!!!

So What?

The CLP gives community members the opportunity to learn in a relaxed, friendly and informal environment.

More for your Money:

Courses on the CLP are FREE to all customers and members of the local community. This means that the cost barrier to learning is broken, therefore encouraging more people to try something new.

 If you want any more information about any of the events that have already happened or that are coming up in the future please do not hesitate to contact us on:

cp@sarh.co.uk or call us on

0800 111 4554