Future Jobs Fund Update – June 2010

Through the continued hard work of the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) and its partners, the Future Jobs Fund programme now has over 2,000 people in work.

Whilst recent Government announcements on reducing the deficit have confirmed that no further bids to the Future Jobs Fund (FJF) will be approved for funding – which includes bids that are currently waiting for approval, this in no way affects the AGMA Greater Manchester bid.

We have confirmation that our original proposal to support 8,000 people into real jobs will continue as normal until March 2011. We also have had excellent feedback from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) about the quality of offer to residents across Greater Manchester, as well as the immense partnership effort that is making this a success here in our region.

So, for our Greater Manchester bid, it remains “business as usual”.

We are all continuing to focus on delivering high performance and value for money through the Future Jobs Fund. We are putting in place further recruitment activities to provide these opportunities to those people who need it most and we are engaging with employers to ensure that our Future Jobs Fund employees are given the best chance of securing work beyond their 6-month job. Also, we are still receiving Expressions Of Interest from new partners who would like to create jobs – it’s not too late to get involved.

Please see below an example of the great opportunities our partners are providing and the impact it has on people’s lives.

Peter has just finished a six-month Future Jobs Funded employment opportunity in Rochdale. He has just secured a more permanent job which he feels will change his life.
Before Peter got the Future Jobs opportunity, he found life a real struggle. He had been on benefits for years, was suffering with ill health and a lifestyle that was not helpful. He had difficulties with his mental health, eventually suffering a breakdown, which left him lacking in confidence and with no hope that his life would be any different. “I just thought that was my life – you know, that’s all I’m good for – a life on benefits – I thought no one would ever give me a chance, especially not at the moment.”
Peter always wanted to work; he just couldn’t see how he could get there. “I’m not a scrounger or anything – I really did want to go to work. It’s really hard to explain – it’s like it was this whole world that I wasn’t a part of and I didn’t know how to get there.”
Peter had been attending local services, which had helped him get into training and voluntary work. Peter feels that this was a turning point – he realised he was capable of achieving and gained qualifications, which he’d never had before. The voluntary work gave him an insight into what work was like and helped him to think about what he was good at.
When the Future Jobs opportunities came up in Rochdale, Peter really began to hope that there might be a way into work. He found it much easier to get through the selection process than he’d thought. “There were no long forms to fill in and the people I met in the interview were lovely – it didn’t feel like an interview, I felt like they wanted me to do well, do you know what I mean? There is no way I would have got a job in a usual interview – well I don’t think so. It’s all about testing you isn’t it? And when you feel a bit worthless you can’t think about competing. You just need someone to give you a chance.”
Peter was offered a job on the Future Jobs scheme that gave him a chance to work in care. It was a completely new field of work for him but he was offered lots of support and training which gave him the skills and qualifications he needed. His employer says that his life experience and his real enthusiasm were the important factors: “You could see him grow in confidence every day. There’s no doubt he can do the job – he’s a real asset to the team. He just needed a break really.”
Peter is now moving on to permanent work and his employer feels he has great prospects in care.
Peter feels that this opportunity has really changed his life. He feels that without the support he had he would have floated in the benefits system getting further away from work. He sees the qualifications he gained as a real turning point: “It’s like they prove I’m on an equal footing with others. No one can just be given these qualifications – you have to work for them and it shows you can do things… Without this I would have never had a chance. People don’t take a risk on someone like me but now I’ve had a chance to prove myself, I have grabbed that opportunity and I won’t ever go back”. (To his employment support worker): “I can’t thank you enough for this. I have pride in myself and in my abilities. I have hope – I can see things ahead and plan. I couldn’t do that for so long before. There is no way I would be like this without having that chance.”
Peter sees the approach to partnership work and a focus on skills as the key things, which made the difference. He feels that the barriers he faced were very complicated and without having a person to help him get through, keep him motivated and on track he would have never got through on his own. Without the encouragement and faith from others he would have never tried. And without the training and qualifications he would never have believed he could do it

If you would like to discuss the opportunity to provide job opportunities (free of charge to your organisation) please contact: Nicola Moss on 0161 237 4136 or,
Email: nicola.moss@neweconomymanchester.com