Our brand-new wellbeing job club and support service opened in Worcester in June of this year to support people who are looking to work towards gaining employment or training. Three months down the line, and more than 120 people are already gaining support.
The service offers free weekly wellbeing job clubs and wellbeing activities, as well as workshops covering topics such as CV building, interview skills, steps to wellbeing, IT skills and gaining access to benefits.
Lisa-Jane Wall, Welfare Project Manager at Worcester Community Trust commented:
“We are absolutely delighted that within the first three months of opening our wellbeing job clubs we have already been able to support so many people. We are working with people from a wide range of backgrounds of all ages; and the feedback we are getting from clients is amazing.
“It has been particularly rewarding to see how our wellbeing activities are helping people to make positive changes to their lives. Our weekly wellbeing walks are so well attended, even now with the weather turning colder, and it’s great to see clients from across the community supporting one another”.
William, a Wellbeing Job Club client has already been able to secure a new job following the support he has received:
“I accessed the Wellbeing Job Coach service at Worcester Community Trust after receiving notice that I was being made redundant from the job I had for over 12 years.
“I was made to feel welcome and reassured by my Wellbeing Job Coach, who was able to help me plan to improve my confidence which I had lost and help me find a new job as soon as possible. To do this I volunteered to attend “Wellbeing walks” which helped me meet new people and socialise. This gave me distraction from worrying about the negative aspects of the redundancy, and process what I needed to do in a positive way.
“I also received help to improve and update my CV, and I was encouraged to apply for jobs, volume applying for similar jobs to the one I was being made redundant from, but also other jobs that are within my skill set. Due to this I was given many job interviews which my job coach helped me prepare for.
“My job coach continued to give me advice and support during the redundancy process, making sure that I knew what to expect from the employer and redundancy pay, as a result I was able to arrange for an exit interview and for the questions they will ask to be sent to me beforehand so I can prepare my responses.
“The outcome of the support I have received is that I was able to secure a new job before completing the notice period for the redundancy and have been able to expand my social circle having made many new friends during the wellbeing walks.”
We are running free to attend job clubs run every week at the following locations:
- Mondays 11.30am – 1.00pm at Horizon Hub, Midland Road, WR5 1DS
- Fridays 10.00am – 11.30am at Warndon Hub, Shap Drive, WR4 9NX
There are also one-to-one appointments available for anybody looking for additional support around employability, wellbeing, confidence, and self-esteem. This includes helping people to manage any barriers to employment that they are facing such as financial or health related challenges.
The service is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund and is due to run for at least the next four years. It is open to anybody aged 16+ whether they are currently in employment or not.
To get support or find out more information about the project, click here or call 01905 453453 x 101.