Stainforth4all, Help to Work

Supporting Strainforth’s young people to find work

When it comes to education, The South Yorkshire town of Stainforth ranks in the bottom one per cent of most deprived areas in the UK. The former mining community is dealing with the impact of generations of unemployment.

Grassroots community group Stainforth4All has big plans to change things for its residents. They run a library, charity shop, and employment support for adults, with a mission is to promote the social, economic and educational regeneration of the town.

We gave them £10,000 as part of our small grants programme to develop a new project for young people who are not in education or employment (NEET).

The Help to Work project offers a structured programme of IT and employability support. It includes training to use computers to search for jobs, compile CVs and draft applications, and coaching in interview techniques.

22 young people took part in the Help to Work programme – all said that their self-confidence, ambition, employability and job search skills had improved as a result.
14 participants (particularly those who went into volunteering and work) reported an improvement in their mental health. 16 participants gained an Entry Level 3 City & Guilds qualification in Online Skills.
11 participants progressed into volunteering and at least 5 participants have secured employment.

“We believe our biggest success of this project has been giving young people the skills and tools to confidently apply for jobs and present themselves at interviews. All of our participants have reported that they are feeling a lot more motivated and confident, especially when going for their first interview, when in the past this has been an extremely daunting concept for them.”

Phil Bedford, Manager of Stainforth4All