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Well Issue 3: Autumn/Winter 2003/04
Employability
New Futures Fund Initiative
Employability relates to someone's capacity to, and likelihood of, getting and sustaining work. The New Futures Fund (NFF) was set up to help those people who are a long way from employment and commonly excluded from the services and activities that most of us take for granted.
Since the NFF was established in 1998, over 5,000 people who were considered seriously disadvantaged in the labour market have been supported, many of them now in a dramatically different position as a result.
Managed by Scottish Enterprise, this is a uniquely Scottish initiative which is currently assisting 71 projects throughout Scotland. The client groups include homeless people, those with drug and alcohol addiction, offenders, chaotic young people, people with mental health problems, disabilities or learning difficulties, and disadvantaged people from minority ethnic groups.
"Our clients may have multiple barriers to employment and more often we're recognising a dual diagnosis with mental health and addiction problems combined," says Theresa Haran, NFF project manager. "We concentrate on enabling people to take small steps of progress and we also seek to address the whole series of issues that affect an individual's progress, not purely what may be thought of as direct employment-related support."
The New Futures Fund Initiative is a labour market programme but it does not expect or require job outcomes. It is unique in that it works through organisations such as the Scottish Association of Mental Health, Renfrewshire Addiction Forum
and Move On Limited that are intimately acquainted with their clients' needs, but do not necessarily have an employment orientation. This means that staff can have an understanding and trust not often apparent in "mainstream" employment and training programmes.
As Theresa explains, there is no time limit for support or prescribed way of doing things. Instead there is an expectation that personal development support is combined with support that is more closely focused on improving employability.
"All sorts of factors affect the chances of an individual finding and keeping a job," she says. "Their personal characteristics, the issues they face in everyday life, where they live, their core generic and vocational skills and work experience. The way they present themselves and their attitude is also important and, of course, the attitudes of the employer and potential colleagues towards them.
"NFF recognises that unless the whole range of factors is addressed, the chances of someone progressing towards the labour market are slim. One of our greatest assets, however, is that this is a very flexible initiative which provides a combination of personal development and employment related support. A key strength is the ability of staff to link effectively to a range of services available from key partners such as Jobcentre Plus, Social Work, help agencies and housing services in order to jointly assist the client to progress."
New Futures Fund, Skills Development Directorate, Scottish Enterprise
Theresa Haran
Tel: 0141 248 2700
Email:theresa.haran@scotent.co.uk
Mental health issues represent a barrier for almost a quarter of New Futures Fund clients. There are currently nine NFF approved projects underway in Scotland aimed at increasing employability amongst people with mental health problems.
www.scottish-enterprise.com/newfuturesfund
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