1. The development of the Life Support Programme as a model for enhancing employability and enabling socially excluded people to escape the low skills trap.
Achievement: A community-based programme that enables those without recognised qualifications to build upon their life skills to develop the personal qualities, qualifications, expertise and skills to cope successfully with university education and to enter employment at a professional level.
Mainstreamed: The Welsh Assembly Government and Jobcentre Plus will test the programme within an Inner Cities initiative project for the Heads of the Valleys area.
Impact on target groups: Residents of disadvantaged communities are enabled to achieve a sustainable income above the current poverty level. There is also a beneficial effect on their children through an increased value and enthusiasm for learning.
Difference made: Conventional labour market training programmes only succeed in taking people out of unemployment but not out of poverty. The programme provides a mix of community-based social support as well as the more conventional learning support.
2. Community-based and peer-led projects as a means of engaging and supporting 'hardest to reach' residents.
Achievement: Each Action Researcher developed a community group built around their common interests (Coping with Life on the Estate; Repairing and Building Computers; Healthy Cooking; Slimming through Swimming). All Action Researchers were recruited because they lived or had lived or worked in the community. Activities were informal and focused on the interests and needs of participants. Once trust and mutual respect was established their underlying needs gradually began to be identified and appropriate support provided.
Mainstreamed: The model has not been adopted by the conventional job search support agencies for logistical reasons. However its value is recognised as an effective means of identifying/addressing psycho-social barriers to employability.
Impact on target groups: Participants report increased levels of confidence, greater understanding of the barriers preventing their progression to employment and a willingness to seek help from statutory agencies. Willingness to adopt a healthier lifestyle is an added bonus.
Difference made: Conventional labour market interventions programmes focus narrowly on pre-employment 'job readiness' programmes and the assessment of barriers to progression are simplistic. This model enables a comprehensive assessment of underlying needs and ensures that more relevant (sophisticated) support is in place.
3. Tackling the causes of economic inactivity at source: Parenting.
Achievement: Parenting programme devised by a First Round project introduced and customised to engage hard to reach parents in learning and to enhance learning attainment of children from families in a low socio-economic category.
Mainstreamed: The local authority has appointed a Parenting Coordinator and incorporated the engagement and support aspects into their conventional parenting training programmes.
Impact on target group: Participants have enjoyed the experience and have been able to use tools and techniques to make their lives easier and boost their confidence and effectiveness as parents. Knock-on effect has been seen in terms of children’s behaviour and learning capacity at school.
Difference made: Whereas the programme sits comfortably alongside more formal parenting training on offer it is no coincidence that numbers on the more conventional courses increased dramatically. Facilitators from these programmes have also benefited from new tools and techniques.
4. Tackling the causes of economic inactivity at source: Speech and language development.
Achievement: Increased significantly the number of children accessing the service available to remedy delays in speech and language development (an underlying cause of under-attainment in learning). Two Engagement Assistants from the community were employed to encourage and support parents to attend appointments with their children.
Mainstreamed: The local NHS Trust is in the process of evaluating the project. Initial results are encouraging.
Impact on target group: Hardest to reach parents mistrusted and did not use the existing service. Access has improved from zero% in one area to more than 75%.
Difference made: Children who previously missed their first appointment were lost to the system and simply fell behind in speech and language development. Significant numbers now benefit and speech and language development has improved.
