Jericho Foundation Provides Apprentices with So Much More Than Work Experience

The Jericho Foundation

The Jericho Foundation breaks down barriers in society and supports people to become fulfilled, skilled and employed. Jericho helps 16-24 year old young people struggling to find work, by offering apprenticeships in a range of vocational areas including printing, landscaping, business administration, construction, customer services, hospitality and retail.

All apprenticeships involve 30 hours of work in one of our valuable social enterprise businesses, paid at the national apprenticeship wage. During the apprenticeship youngsters also work with a Jericho partner college to complete a recognised qualification.

However, Jericho’s support doesn’t end there. Jericho works with apprentices to help them overcome any barriers that could prevent them from completing their apprenticeship. No matter what an individual’s situation or problems, Jericho provides each apprentice with a holistic package of skills, training and additional support, together with the confidence to know that they are a valuable, employable member of the community.

All Jericho apprentices receive tailored guidance and encouragement from a supervisor. The supervisor works alongside the apprentice to provide immediate coaching and mentoring whenever needed. This means that, if a young person has difficulties during their apprenticeships, Jericho is usually able to proactively help them overcome these. Fulfilling a successful apprenticeship gives the young person confidence, demonstrable work experience, a suitable qualification and a positive chance at obtaining a permanent job.

To find out more about our unique approach, read two of our case studies:

N faced constant pressure from his family to get a job. He felt uncertain about how to find a job, but had found short term jobs and done some volunteering at Marie Curie before joining Jericho. N had good qualifications in Maths and English and had taken a few construction courses, but was unable to find a permanent position.

N joined as an apprentice at our ReUsers Store in November 2015. His soft skills assessments have shown continual improvements in confidence, self esteem and motivation levels. His personal anxiety levels have also reduced. Jericho have been so impressed with N that he won ‘Star of the Month’ in July 2016!

H had only 6 months’ work experience and had been NEET for over two years. His dyslexia meant that he did not enjoy school and switched off in the classroom. During the recruitment process H was very closed off and it was a struggle to get information from him or gauge how he was feeling.

H had a shaky start to his trial period where he was constantly late and did not show a willingness to work. Following discussions with his line manager about what is expected in the workplace, his attitude and punctuality improved. 

There were a number of times when H was still very closed off, in particular when his Nan was diagnosed with cancer and his Mother struggled to cope with the news. During this period H turned to his supervisors for support.

His interest in sports led H to be given the responsibility of this section of ReUse. He transformed the room and when customers had sports-related queries he became the person to ask.

Upon the completion of his apprenticeship his line manager wrote the following: “It has been a pleasure to work alongside him over the last 12 months. He has grown immensely. He has grown in confidence and is now an efficient worker who we can rely on to get the job done.”