Group helps residents into work
15 January 2010
With UK unemployment figures at a high of 1.97 million*, Southern Housing Group, one of the largest Housing Associations in London and South East England, is launching a scheme to help its residents into work.
The Working Opportunities Fund offers grants of up to £500 to residents looking for support into employment. Residents can apply for financial assistance to help them to secure work or make their transition into employment more manageable. Funding may be used to buy clothing for interviews, work tools, travel costs or childcare, for example.
Employment and Training Project Manager, Tim Lovett, said:
“In the current economic climate competition for jobs is extremely high, making it increasingly difficult to access work. Research** shows that initiatives, such as the Group’s Working Opportunities Fund, help people to overcome the barriers that stop them maintaining paid work - whether it’s helping residents with the cost of registering with accredited bodies or travel to work for the first month.
We consider each application on an individual basis, and applicants are expected to make a contribution to the costs themselves. We hope this scheme will make it easier for residents to find the job they want, and have the resources to keep it.”
To find out more or apply for the Working Opportunities Fund, go to ‘grants for residents’ on the ‘residents’ page of this website.
You can also contact Tim Lovett on tim.lovett@shgroup.org.uk
Ends
* Figures taken from the Office of National Statistics over the three-month period from October to December 2009.
** Research taken from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation study: Local initiatives to help workless people find and keep paid work