A4e Partner Success stories
This time last year Steven Nuttall was sitting down to a Christmas dinner of fish fingers and chips. Then he broke down in tears. Out of work for more than ten years, he’d only been able to buy his two children, then 16 and eight years old, a packet of crayons and pencils for a present.
A year on, his life couldn’t be more different. And it’s all thanks to A4e partner, Bootstrap. The Blackburn, Lancashire based charity, set up more than 20 years ago, aims to help individuals overcome significant barriers to jobs and skills. They are one of more than 228 partners that A4e is currently working with to deliver the DWPs Work Programme.
With no one organisation able to respond to the needs of all public service customers, the expert knowledge and abilities our 13 specialist end to end partners – like Bootstrap – provide is vital to support those with a defined need towards sustained employment.
Bootstrap
Bootstrap was a perfect fit with Steven, who came to advisor Arlene Todd unable to read and write and up to his eyes in debt. At 50 years old, he had all but given up hope of ever finding work. Steven recalls: “The moment I saw Arlene and told her about not being able to read or write, she said: “Don’t worry about that, love. I’ll get you a job within two weeks””
“And, do you know what? She did.”
Although he had spent more than ten years on benefits, Steven is now a much-valued warehouse operative at Icon Design, a furniture and bedding manufacturer in Rishton, Lancashire. It is the first time in his life that he has ever received a regular pay packet. And he couldn’t be happier.
He has no teeth, but Steven’s beaming smile lights up the room. “It means so much to me to have a job,” he says, “It means I can give my children treats. I’ve already bought them twenty presents for Christmas this year. I have money in my pocket – I’ve never really had that before.”
Describing the darkest times in his life, he says: “When I was little, I got scolded on my arithmetic and it knocked me back. After that I lost all my confidence and just never learned to read or write.
“I’ve done a few jobs. I’ve made and sold popcorn, worked on the fairgrounds, did a bit as a machine operator. But I’ve never been able to fill in forms. I used to get very down. I tried everything to get work, I went to the Job Centres nearly every day, I got my family to fill in the applications, but no-one ever replied. Every time I got a rejection, it would knock me down again.
“I did lots of courses to help me write, but nothing really worked until I met Arlene. She was perfect.” After a series of interviews with Arlene to agree a plan of action to get him into work, Steven was given interview training and offered support from Bootstrap’s Dress to Impress initiative which overcame his struggle with personal presentation. A former teacher, Arlene also helped Steven with his numeracy and literacy. Says Steven: “One day, Arlene phoned me about a three week work trial with a local company. She told me: ‘Steve, don’t kill yourself, but just show them you can do it.’ I worked there a week and boss told me they were going to keep me on. I love it so much. It’s perfect. I’m making mattresses, running a machine, sewing pillows. I have a right laugh with my colleagues.”
Steven has now applied for a passport – his first – and is saving up to visit his father in Florida, whom he hasn’t seen for eight years. Steven is proof, if any is needed, of the dramatic impact A4e’s work with partner organisations is having on the lives of our customers.
Partner Network
A4e’s partner network provided a vital part of the tender for DWP’s Framework Agreements for the Provision of Employment Related Services. Of A4e’s 228 partners, 35 deliver 100 pc of the customer journey, from referral to sustained employment in areas that A4e do not have a presence and 13 specialist end to end organisations deal primarily with customers with a defined need.
Another 180 specialist intervention partners (SIPs) range from Take 3 Days, which offer courses for lone parents to Harvest Housing, a non-for-profit registered housing provider with over 180,000 affordable homes. A survey by another SIP, Designer Life Coaching, shows the effect it is having on its customers. More than 84 pc said the workshops had helped reduce their barriers into employment.
Nigel Lemmon, A4e Executive Director, is in no doubt about the benefit our customers receive from being able to access the specialist services offered through our partnerships. “Our partners are an essential part of our broader A4e team, we value our partners and none more so than our Third Sector partners. It is only with their expertise and skill that we can meet the needs of our customers. We work with a diverse range of partner organisations and engage with them to ensure our customers find the best possible personalised journey into a job. A4e’s mission is to improve’s people’s lives and we enjoy finding and working with any partners who can help us achieve that mission, every hour of everyday.”
Wheatsheaf Trust
One of these partners is Wheatsheaf Trust, a Southampton-based charity dedicated to helping the most disadvantaged back into work through advice, workshops and courses.
It was the Wheatsheaf Trust’s special understanding of the jobs market in Gosport, Southampton and Havant which had a spectacular impact on the lives of 19-year-old twins Luke and Carl Bowles.
The boys had left college after passing their BTec national certificate in IT with distinction but their age and lack of experience left them struggling to find work in the IT industry.
“To be honest, they’d done so well at college they really shouldn’t have been out of work for so long,” said Jackie Powers, Deputy Chief Executive of the Trust. “Unfortunately, they had been rather let down by various people and had been out of work for 15 months.”
The Wheatsheaf Trust contacted Highbury College, another A4e partner with whom the charity works closely, to find a solution. The boys are receiving now a wage as part of an IT apprenticeship NiTP (Mircosoft Academy) at Highbury. The charity is funding their fees while they complete their intermediate apprenticeship by Christmas and move onto their advanced course in January.
“The boys were quite shy when they came to us and they didn’t want to be separated,” explains Jackie, “We managed to find them the same employer and, although they work in different departments at the college, can meet regularly. They are both very happy.”
“Their story is a good example of three partners – A4e, The Wheatsheaf Trust and Highbury College – all coming together to make something work. The boys will come out of their apprenticeship with good qualifications and a much better chance of finding sustainable employment.”
Turning Point
The work of specialist end to end partner Turning Point perhaps best describes how A4e strives to meet the individual needs of customers, however complex. The story of Daniel Dale, 22, currently working with the charity’s Sheffield office, is especially moving.
Daniel, who lives in Doncaster, was referred to Turning Point as fought with mental health issues, anxiety and paranoia. His traumatic childhood had left Daniel with such significant emotional scars that, without help, he could easily have become a forgotten unemployment statistic.
Farah Iqbal, his advisor, says: “Daniel was exceedingly reserved, he wouldn’t give eye contact and all his answers were just yes and no. “He lacked so much confidence – stemming from his terrible childhood and learning difficulties – he just didn’t know what he wanted to do.
“The first barrier was getting to talk to him on the phone. He mistrusts people and thinks they are out to harm him rather than put his interests at heart, so it started off by text and then gradually I built up a rapport with him over the phone before finally arranging to meet.
“He has two older siblings who are both in prison and he was clear that he didn’t want to go down that route. We discussed what interests he has and at the end of it he said he liked organising things. We are now working towards getting him into a warehouse, which appeals to him, but I don’t want to throw him in at the deep end so we are arranging some kind of voluntary work in a shop first.”
Farah remembers the moment she finally won Daniel’s trust. “He was always very guarded about his past but one day he threw me a bit of a lifeline when he opened up and discussed his upbringing. He said his mother was an alcoholic and he saw his father regularly beat her right up until his teenage years. He did most of the talking and I just listened. I got the whole picture, which was lovely.”
Farah has only been with Turning Point for six months, after working with autistic adults, but she says: “It’s a rewarding job, but I do find it overwhelming sometimes. You can’t imagine some of the horror stories. But then, when you make a breakthrough, it’s overwhelmingly humbling.”
And, summing up A4e’s whole approach to its customers, she adds: “Ultimately when you have given someone all the tools they need for employment and they end up getting a job, you know you have really made a difference in someone’s life.”
One comment
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This is what makes it great to work for A4e all the success for people who have altogether given up hope to all out there doing a great job thanks. Hopefully I can make the same sort of difference to my customers lives because thats what makes me come to work everyday.
