Food distribution charity creates opportunities for young job seekers
FareShare Midlands is building on its overall mission to fight hunger and tackle food waste, by creating opportunities through their employability programmes.
With an ambition by 2024 to support? 400 people into vocational training, placements or paid work, this year the charity has already shown impressive success across the schemes.
In Birmingham, the I-CAN employability programme in partnership with the PURE Employment Service (funded by the European Union through the European Social Fund) is a six-week programme of classroom and work experience to help individuals aged over 25 to develop the skills, knowledge and expertise they require to enter training and employment in the warehousing and logistics sector.
FareShare Midlands has established partnerships and Sector-based Work Academy Programmes with B2W (JLR forklift), Cadbury (FLT refresher) and Ocado (delivery driver). FareShare has supported 60 people so far; 30 have completed formal training and 15 have gone on to secure employment.
FareShare Midlands is a delivery partner on the Nottingham Works 4 You project, which is coordinated by the Nottingham Jobs service and supports Nottingham city residents aged 16-24. Funded by the European Union through the European Social Fund, Nottingham Works 4 You enables FareShare to provide access to supervised, practical work experience and World of Work learning with the aim of helping 18-24-year-olds to find jobs and start successful careers. Since joining the project, FareShare Midlands has enrolled 21 participants; one has successfully moved into education or training and eight have gained employment.
Councillor Rebecca Langton, portfolio holder for skills, growth and economic development, Nottingham City Council, said: "Projects like Nottingham Works 4 You enable Nottingham City Council to extend employment and skills provision throughout the city.
“Since the start of the project in April 2021, and with the hard work and dedication of partners such as FareShare, we have been able to provide over 500 young people aged 16 to 24 with the advice and guidance they need to find appropriate training and employment.
“By providing one-to-one support and work experience in real-world environments, FareShare are playing a key role in helping us to achieve these outcomes and ensuring that more young city residents leave the project with the confidence and skills they need to find rewarding, lifelong careers".
Simone Connolly, director of FareShare Midlands, said: “Most people recognise the charity FareShare as a food redistributor - a supplier of good surplus food to hundreds of community organisations. At the same time, we are also helping people to gain skills, experience and confidence, so that they can re-enter the job market or secure a job for the first time.
“Creating opportunities like this means that not only are we helping people in need to eat better, but we 're also providing support to lift individuals out of the cycle of poverty. Unemployment and poverty have such a devastating impact on the lives of vulnerable families and FareShare Midlands will continue to develop our employability programmes, so that we can help even more local people to improve their lives for the long-term ”.
As the region 's largest food redistribution charity, FareShare Midlands delivers good quality surplus food to 550 frontline charities and reaches 60,000 vulnerable people every week. To build on this support to families and individuals suffering poverty, food inequality and the continuing impact of Covid-19, the charity is embedding and growing its employability services throughout the Midlands.
People can find themselves unemployed for many reasons, and the ongoing disruption due to Covid-19 has increased this. Unemployment frequently leads to financial hardship, debt, housing stress and family tension. It also has a negative effect on confidence, self-esteem and mental health.
FareShare Midlands ' growing employability schemes will target different age groups to offer a wide range of advice, support, comprehensive training and hand-on work experience, to enable participants to return to the workplace.
Find out more about FareShare Midlands
Pictured: Brandon, a successful participant in the Nottingham Works 4 You & FareShare employability project and Lee Anne Glover, employability coach, celebrate Brandon starting a six-month placement as a Water-way Kickstarter.