Wheatsheaf’s REAcT2 youth group has just embarked on a competition with the aim of sprucing up Southampton Common!

The competition is a YSDF (Youth Sector Development Fund) initiative and the nine groups participating must all identify a local issue that needs addressing to improve the area for the general public.

And Wheatsheaf’s REAcT2 Youth Project group has just six weeks to get their entry in!

The first project session was held yesterday morning, Wednesday 7 July.

Project leader, 17-year-old Wayne: “We spent the morning phoning the Council, finding out about the Common, discussing what we think needs to be done and  talking about suggestionss for funding and sponsorship.”

At the moment ideas under consideration  that will in 18-year-old Sam’s words - and who’s in charge of admin and publicity - “make the Common a safer and better place, safer and better  for the people of Southampton and for their kids,” include installing better lighting, more bins and CCTV cameras, as well as providing more chairs and  cleaning-up areas where there’s most litter.

Priority areas to be addressed will be discussed next week at a meeting the group has set up with the Hawthorn Urban Wildlife Centre based at the Common.

Sam has some great ideas for publicity and attracting funders: “We’re trying to find sponsorship or perhaps get the Prince’s Trust involved. We’re looking at going on Unity Radio to promote the project, and also Galaxy FM might help.”

The work for the project was supposed to be done during weekly youth opportunity sessions at Wheatsheaf but as Wayne says, “We’ve only got six weeks and so Sam and I will be working together outside the group. We’re going to be working really hard on this.”

Emma, Wheatsheaf’s project coordinator is delighted with the enthusiasm shown by the group. “The project will help develop team-working skills, teach them how to communicate and understand different points of view and ways of working.

“It will also encourage them to look into different types of career that they may not have thought of, such as publicity or event organisation.”

If you want to find out how the group is getting on with their plans, check out the weekly updates on this website!

Wheatsheaf Trust delivers the Youth Sector Development Fund programme in partnership with HIOW Youth Options and Motiv8.

When Tina was advised by a friend to visit her local Wheatsheaf Employment Access Centre (EAC), Net-a-Job in Millbrook, she had virtually given up hope of getting a job.

But six months on and having been on two of Wheatsheaf’s programmes Tina’s self-confidence has soared and she is now working in a job that she says “suits her perfectly”.

Tina had last worked in 1997, employed in a warehouse. But this lasted for only four weeks as for personal reasons Tina was forced to give up work and for the next 12 years she was involved in family commitments.

A single-parent with three children aged 17, 14 and seven, at the beginning of 2010 Tina decided that the two youngest, who were still living at home, were old enough for her to go back to work.

She felt she’d been ‘stuck at home’ and was ready and able to support a life-style change and look to improve her finances.  

But after applying for “job after job and getting nothing but rejections” Tina was becoming despondent.

Hoping to get some help with writing her CV Tina turned to Net-a-Job.

She discovered, however, that the EAC had much more to offer her in the way of support.

Eligible as a lone parent, on 27 January 2010 Tina joined our Reach Out programme which provides 1-1 support for clients and is designed individually for each client to suit specific  needs.

Having felt that a lack of experience wasn’t helping in her job search, Tina increased her skills knowledge while on Reach Out by doing basic IT skills training before joining our Launch Pad programme, which supports lone parents who want to work, improve their levels of self-confidence and develop new and/or update existing skills, and includes access to work placements plus practical advice sessions on how to find jobs and training opportunities.

Of the programme Tina said, “Everyone’s very warm, friendly and welcoming and our trainer is great. She makes if very easy. We wouldn’t want to come here otherwise.”

On Tina’s programme skills units included three level 2 training modules, in First Aid, Health and Safety Manual Handling, and Food Safety in Catering. Mid-May Wheatsheaf held a Special Award Ceremony to celebrate the success of all participants passing each module and Tina arrived armed with the news that that morning she’d been offered a job!

She said, “The programme has really helped to build up my confidence. I made new friends and met people in the same situation. It was really helpful to talk to people with similar problems.”

Of her job, working part-time in a term-time role as a cleaner at a local school, she commented, “It’s great. It fits in perfectly with my childcare commitments.

“The children are really excited about my working.  They gave me a congratulations card and I think that my being in work sets them a really good example.

“I’m now able to do much more stuff with them, too. It’s great - I can take them to the shops and buy them things now.’

And of the support she has had from Wheatsheaf Tina says “If I hadn’t come to Wheatsheaf Trust I would still be at home, wondering what to do.”

Reach Out is funded by the Department of Work and Pensions/European Social Fund (via VT Careers Enterprise) and is a community outreach service to help people progress to employment. Wheatsheaf runs the programme in Southampton and Havant.

Launch Pad is run as part of the Jobcentre Support Contract REFRESH project.

For more information about either programme, contact Jackie Powers on 023 8023 7662.

Two client forums have been held at Wheatsheaf’s Bernard Street Employment Access Centre in Southampton. The aim was to allow centre staff and clients to meet in an informal atmosphere and for clients to give feedback on Wheatsheaf services and facilities.

Fifteen clients attended overall, with one session held on Friday 26 February and the second on Friday 5 March.

Clients were invited to complete a tick-box rating questionnaire providing feedback on facilities used at the centre and on services provided by centre staff, such as help with writing CVs and letters, guidance on using the Internet, support with completing application forms.

An informal discussion followed, with the forum finishing after a buffet lunch.

Centre Coordinator and forum organiser Tracy Barrett commented, ‘The forums went very well. We had a good turnout and it was an opportunity for clients to have their say and to raise any issues or concerns they might have. It was also an opportunity for us as an organisation to identify any areas that may need improving or developing. The clients interacted well with each other and with the advisers and shared views on how the service has helped and supported them.’

The Friday 5 March forum ended on a particularly high note when during lunch client Michelle Gore received a phone call from an employer offering her a job!

Michelle had attended Wheatsheaf’s one-day ‘Skills for Work’ course, part of the bespoke Jobcentre Plus Support Contract training programme helping people to move into employment.

Skills course instructor Julie Fisher, and who also chaired the forum event on the 5^th, was delighted with Michelle’s success. She said, ‘Michelle completed the Skills for Work course and we worked together on producing her CV and specimen letters. I then registered her with the Bernard Street EAC where she was able to use the facilities and access the support  available from staff to apply for work. It’s great news that she’s found this job.’

Thank you to all our clients who came to the events - and if you’re a client and were unable to attend the forums but would like to give us your views on our services and facilities, use the website’s Contact form - we’d be very pleased to hear from you.

And a special congratulations to Michelle from all of us at Wheatsheaf Trust!

The photo shows clients and centre staff at the client forum held on Friday 5 March.

Wheatsheaf’s Project Coordinator, Lizzie Chainey, was invited on to Radio Solent’s Julian Clegg’s breakfast programme to take part in an interview with struggling student Tiffany Ridd last Monday, 16 November.

Tiffany was 16 when she was made homeless by her mother who was suffering from mental illness. Now 20, Tiffany is in the second and final year studying for an NVQ3 qualification in Childcare at Southampton City College.

But as she’s not at university, isn’t a lone parent and does not have a disability, Tiffany is not eligible for government financial support. After paying rent her job in a fast food restaurant leaves her £25 in a good week, and now behind in her rent Tiffany admits  to having considered giving up her course.

Lizzie was invited to participate by BBC journalist, Jo Palmer, in an ongoing series of interviews organised to look at issues faced by young people who have been left to ‘fall through the cracks’ (Lizzie).

Lizzie continues, ‘One size does not fit all. The government supports those who do certain things at certain times. If people are at the wrong age or doing things at the wrong time there is no support.’

As was made clear in the interview, Tiffany would be better off financially if she gave up her course and her job and began claiming benefits.

Lizzie: ‘Tiffany is doing all the right things, but at the wrong  time in terms of the system. She couldn’t study at 16 because she was made homeless and is now being penalised instead of applauded for wanting to study and make a life for herself. Tiffany was brought up in a family on benefits and is adamant that this is not the life  she wants but the irony is that at the moment she would actually be better off on benefits rather than trying to help herself!’

As a result of meeting Lizzie at the interview, Tiffany is now a client at Wheatsheaf and Lizzie will be trying to help her  to find a more financially stable way of financing her way through college.

And further good news  for Tiffany is that having had the courage to speak out about her situation on radio, various benefactors have contacted Radio Solent and offered to  pay off part of her housing debt!

But the issue remains that although Tiffany will be receiving support there are many more in her position still ‘falling through the cracks’.

At 23 Dene Lenox had been in car sales all his working life and was about to start training to become a business manager when, six months ago, he was made redundant.

Deciding that a change in career was what he needed, Dene wanted to capitalise on his forte at school - maths - and found a company that would give him training in debt management, IVA s  (Individual Voluntary Arrangements - alternative solutions to declaring bankruptcy), pensions, bankruptcy and referral for life insurance.

But Dene needed funding for the £195 registration fee and came to Havant’s Employment Access Centre for help and where Employment and Training Adviser Mary Cameron was able to obtain support for him via the Fast Forward programme.

With the registration fee paid disaster struck when the training company became insolvent but after a nerve-wracking wait during which Dene admits to having been ‘really scared’ and even wondering if the set-up had been a scam, one of the managers - Alex Leighton - established a new company, Ascend.

Dene is now trading under Ascend’s name, organising debt management courses for clients to attend through Open Door Debt Solutions. Once he has taken his CEMAP exams in early 2010 Dene will be a qualified mortgage broker, and also able to advise on debt management, corporate lending referrals and pension referrals.

Of his future career he says, ‘Everything you do depends on how figures look on paper so the client is not out of pocket and the lender gets a sensible repayment.’

Of Wheatsheaf Trust and the future, Dene comments, ‘Wheatsheaf Trust are brilliant. Mary in particular has been wonderful. Wheatsheaf has changed my life forever. We have gone from struggling to something that looks to be a good future.’

Dene can be contacted on dene.lenox@ascendukltd.co.uk or via 07815 941508.

A year ago Alan Tyson was directed to Wheatsheaf Trust’s Net-a-Job in Millbrook by JobCentre  Plus.

Having worked for six years in a variety of jobs ranging from shop management to working as a DJ, Alan had then spent three years signed off from work suffering from depression.

But through his own perseverance and hard work, and with support from Wheatsheaf, Alan is now an Event Organiser and in the process of setting up his own company, Tyson Promotions - and what’s more has bookings spread over the next six months.

Alan’s company organises events ranging from weddings to business functions, from discos to stag and hen parties. Alan says, ‘It’s a dream I have always wanted to do. And I’m doing it!’

Alan discovered his talent for event organising when he helped his mother plan and organise her wedding three years ago, and after providing First Aid cover at a horse show in September 2008 word of mouth recommendations have meant that Alan, a trained First Aider, has worked all but three weekends since January. He is currently concentrating on developing the company through First Aid Provision at events.

To help set up the company Alan received a grant from Enham, the charity that supports people with disabilities, and has received advice from InBiz, an organisation that supports people moving into self-employment.

‘But I couldn’t have done it without Wheatsheaf,’ Alan says. ‘They gave me practical advice on how to set up the company and on writing letters - and without the facilities to email and phone I wouldn’t be where I am now. I was on Benefits and so didn’t have a mobile or a computer at home.’

With the contracts for First Aid provision at football tournaments, judo competitions, fetes and horse shows continuing to roll in, once the company is set up Alan will be looking to take on 8-9 employees.

Alan’s advice for people looking to go into self-employment is, ‘If someone puts their mind to it, anyone can do it.’

Alan’s website, www.tysonpromotions.co.uk will shortly be available and otherwise to contact Alan for bookings phone 07501 850302 or email on alan.tyson99@yahoo.co.uk. 

Two of Wheatsheaf’s young clients have recently been taken on do their apprenticeships in Painting and Decorating at the Southampton branch of maintenance contract company, CLC.

A third client will be joining the company on three months’ work experience.

Lizzie Chainey, Wheatsheaf’s Work Related Leaning Coordinator, and who organised the arrangement wit h CLC said, ‘Without forward-looking employers like Brad Seall of CLC it would be very difficult for us to enable young people to progress into real employment.’

This type of partnership also enables employers to draw on a previously unexplored market for recruitment, at very little cost to themselves in a ‘try before you buy’ scenario, which works well for both the trainee and the employer.

All the clients were supported via Wheatsheaf’s   E2E programme , funded  by LSC  (now REAcT!), and were able to attend training sessions in basic construction skills  at Wheatsheaf’s in-house workshop, as well as tailored  individual learning  sessions, which included literacy and numeracy.

The aim of the relationship is to enable young people who have previously been unable to get into employment to gain work experience, and see first-hand what is expected in a working environment.

Wheatsheaf’s Chief Executive, Jonathan Cheshire commented, ‘There is no substitute for real work experience in preparing people for employment.’

Wheatsheaf is delighted at this new partnership with CLC which should see a rolling programme of young clients from Wheatsheaf able to benefit from the advantages of experiencing working life and receiving training in valuable employment skills with such an established company.

If you are an employer and would like to discuss involvement in a similar arrangement with Wheatsheaf, contact Lizzie Chainey on 023 8022 0390.

Until recently Lynn was a client at Wheatsheaf’s Havant Employment Access Centre, but on Monday she starts a new job with a Security company. 

After five years working as a manufacturing supervisor for a local company Lynn had been made redundant.

Because of the recession there were few job vacancies in production and so Lynn came to the Havant Employment Access Centre looking for career advice and a helping-hand with producing her CV.

She applied for ‘every job going’ but had no success and during this time suffered bereavement twice, along with a loss of confidence and self-esteem. 

Lynn was encouraged to look at her skills - what she had to offer a potential employer and where she wanted to go next. As a result she joined Wheatsheaf as a volunteer to gain office experience and took an IT course with Highbury College at the Centre before deciding that Security was the career for her. 

Wheatsheaf’s Employment and Training Adviser, Mary Cameron, said, ‘Lynn has worked extremely hard to gain qualifications and knowledge to enhance the skills she already had. At Havant College she gained the Security Industry Authority (SIA) qualification required for working in the Security industry, with a 99% pass! Lynn’s job-search journey is now at an end as she has been offered a position in her new-chosen career.’

Lynn was supported via the Reach Out programme, a Department of Work and Pensions/European Social Fund community outreach service Wheatsheaf provides through working with Vosper Thorneycroft (VT) Careers Enterprise. Reach Out Funding paid for Lynn’s SIA licence following her qualification success.

Mohammed Khan, Project Manager for Reach Out at VT Enterprise commented, “When the ESF funded Reach Out service was rolled out for Hampshire & Isle of Wight in June 2008, VT as the Prime Contractor decided from the outset to set aside some of the budget for a discretionary funding element which Key Workers can submit requests to on behalf of their participants. I am really pleased that the Reach Out service discretionary budget was able to fund Lynn in acquiring her SIA licence which has helped in the success of her being offered full-time employment.’

Lynn is looking forward to beginning her job on Monday. Of Wheatsheaf Trust in Havant she said, ‘The girls here have been brilliant. Wheatsheaf has changed my life around.’

At Wheatsheaf Trust we are celebrating helping our 3000^th client to find employment here in Southampton.

Six months ago Tony Field, a single parent, hadn’t worked for 5 years due to his home commitments. Tony came into our employment access centre in Bernard Street and in June began work at the ASDA store in Southampton. Tony is not only the 3000^th client Wheatsheaf Trust has helped to find work, but he has just received the Service Hero of the Month award at the city store.

Tony says, ‘I’ve been working as both a home shopping driver and a home shopping picker. Wheatsheaf helped me find my confidence again and to get back into work.’