Community Spotlight – Endorphins Group

The government’s Get Britain Working White Paper highlights the need to help more businesses to recruit and retain workers with a health condition or disability. We are proud to work in collaboration with an extensive range of community partners through our funded employability services, who offer additional specialist support to unemployed jobseekers helping them to overcome their barriers to work and find employment that works for them.

We know that being out of work can be a stressful time and can lead many individuals to struggle with their confidence when trying to re-enter the job market. Jobseekers using our employability services benefit from a range of in-house courses to support them in looking for work, from employability skills workshops focusing on CV writing and interview techniques, to health and wellbeing sessions designed to support individuals with their confidence and teach techniques such as mindfulness.

One of our community partners is the Endorphins Group who run ‘Empower by Endorphins’, a fully funded adult education course that supports individuals with boosting their self-esteem and confidence, creating a positive mindset and learning how to be resilient. We began working with Endorphins in our Doncaster office as a way to provide participants using our local delivery of Better Working Futures and Work Routes – our names for the DWP’s Work and Health Programme Core and Pioneer – with additional ongoing wellbeing support, particularly for those who may require more help to maintain a positive mindset and continue their job search once completing their time on our services.

Ellie Foster, Business Development Executive at Endorphins, commented:

“Empower by Endorphins are proud to partner with Reed in Partnership to provide vital support to the jobseekers they support. Our Empower Course helps individuals discover the tools they need to overcome challenges and build a brighter future on their pathway to employment. We focus on building confidence, managing anxiety and stress and developing more of a positive mindset.

“This partnership allows us to use our combined expertise and resources to provide such comprehensive support. By working together, we can ensure individuals receive the guidance and encouragement they need to achieve their full potential and thrive in their personal and professional lives.”

In Doncaster, the team host regular health and wellbeing events to give an opportunity to speak directly with local support services in a comfortable, familiar environment, and be supported by their Employment Advisers to access services that are right for them. Empower by Endorphins has been a regular feature at these events and the great interest they have received from our participants has led to even further collaboration.

Faith Harvey, Business Manager for our Better Working Futures service in Doncaster, shared:

“For over three years now, there has been great collaboration between Empower by Endorphins and our team in Doncaster. We have supported each other to ensure participants receive ongoing support once they leave our programme and don't fall through the cracks.

“Working together has brought consistency to the participants, helping them to build on the confidence they have gained from our services, mix socially in another safe space and maintain their motivation to move into employment.

“In the coming months we have agreed to host Endorphins for one-on-one appointments where they can sign up our participants who will soon be leaving our services and may benefit from the excellent ongoing wellbeing support their team has to offer.”

These collaborations highlight the importance of working closely with specialist partners in our local communities. We remain dedicated to our mission of positively transforming people and their communities, helping individuals to achieve their goals and change their lives through work.