250,000 people helped to start working

Reed in Partnership is celebrating the milestone of supporting 250,000 people into work. For 24 years we have delivered services to support jobseekers who are finding it difficult to start working.

250,000 people who have used these services have now successfully transitioned from unemployment into a sustainable job with our help.

These jobseekers have come from a range of different backgrounds and circumstances and from across most of the UK – and the reasons why they have had difficulty finding work were very specific to each individual. Their barriers have included a disability or health condition, long-term worklessness, caring responsibilities, recent homelessness, substance misuse, or a lack of skills or qualifications.

Whatever may have been holding these jobseekers back, we have helped a quarter of a million of them find a solution to move forward and change their lives for the better.

Breaking down barriers

Each jobseeker has been guided by one of our expert Employment Advisers who develops an understanding of their personal circumstances and aspirations.

With this information we have helped them develop a plan of action, full of personalised support. This has often included:

1. Identifying their transferable skills
2. Providing free skills training
3. Creating a CV for them
4. Help with searching for jobs and completing applications
5. Developing their self-confidence and motivation
6. Preparing for interviews with lots of practise

Where the jobseeker has had a health condition or disability, we have provided dedicated health and wellbeing support for both physical and mental health issues. This also includes working with employers to make reasonable adjustments and make work more accessible, through our role as a Disability Confident Leader.

The cost of looking for work can be prohibitive for some people. Where this is the case, we have provided funding for jobseekers to buy interview clothes, pay for travel, print CVs and purchase equipment or clothing for the workplace. We have also used our intuitive Better Off Calculator to make sure the transition from benefits and onto a wage will mean they are financially better off.

Many of the jobseekers we have supported have decided that self-employment would work better for them. In these instances, our Self Employment Advisers help them develop a business plan to get going.

Once in work, we have kept in touch with people to make sure they are settled and progressing – and address any issues they may initially have faced.

The power of partnership

We called our company Reed in Partnership because we knew we could not solve all the problems jobseekers face by ourselves. We have worked with thousands of partner organisations who can provide specialist support for specific barriers such as mental health, bereavement, addiction, or homelessness.

In the Home Counties, where we deliver the Restart Scheme to help long-term unemployed people, we work with Working Minds to provide additional mental health support.

Hear from Working Minds’ CEO, Simon Coombes, about working with Reed in Partnership and supporting people to find employment:

Working with employers

When those that we support are ready to start working, helping them to source a role and employer that is right for them is key.

We work hard to form strong relationships with employers local to our services. It means that we can work directly with them if we feel we have a participant who would be suitable for a role they are recruiting for. We even offer our participant specifics courses in which they can qualify for certain sectors.

Hear from Steph Boycott, HR Manager at haulage firm Longs of Leeds, about how we worked together to fill the firm’s HGV driver vacancies:

All of our services hold regular jobs fairs, to introduce participants directly to local, hiring employers.

Kirsty Cavanagh, Head of People & Culture at Club Doncaster, recently attended a jobs fair at our Better Working Futures office in Doncaster.

Kirsty said:

“We have been coming to Reed in Partnership jobs fairs for four years now. We recruit mainly for stewarding and customer service roles, and we have had some really great success in the past with recruiting Reed in Partnership participants into full-time, permanent roles.

“Reed in Partnership are consistent, thorough, and great at putting suitable clients in front of us!”

Celebrating our milestone

To celebrate reaching this milestone, we hosted an event in Barnsley where the 250,000th jobseekers we supported into work is based.

The Barnsley team was joined by our Chairman James Reed and Operations Director Donna Murrell, plus local representatives from Jobcentre Plus.

James said:

“It’s been quite a journey for Reed in Partnership over the last 24 years with plenty of ups and downs, but today is a day to look back and take pride in what has been achieved.

“I would like to extend a big thank you to all my colleagues both past and present for taking us to this special milestone. I hope we will achieve many more successes in the future.”

John Finn is the Employment Adviser who supported our 250,000th into work. He said:

“Getting to know a jobseeker with barriers and seeing them develop their skills, overcome those barriers and step out of their comfort zones is very rewarding. We get to see them transform, start to earn money and enjoy life – better off than previously.”

We are grateful to all of our partners, employers, commissioners, Jobcentre Plus, and colleagues past and present, who have played a role in helping us to achieve this milestone.