Belina Get Ready for Work are delighted to announce that we have joined the Institute of Employability Professionals as Corporate Affiliate Partners.
The IEP is the membership body for employability professionals. They are dedicated to supporting the people who support others gain work, progress in work and retain work. IEP’s vision is ‘Employability professionals everywhere are the best they can be’ and their purpose is to empower individuals to perform to a professional standard, champion employability as a recognised profession, secure employer recognition and create a network of opportunity.
Belina Get Ready for Work is an award-winning Training & Development organisation running intensive confidence-building, motivation and employability programmes for women, their advisers and employers. They work across London on programmes for the DWP, EFSA, Community Fund and the MOJ. Belina run end to end programmes and offer specialist interventions, on their main employability programme and their retention rate at 26 weeks employment is 90%.
Partnership is at the heart of Belina’s approach, believing that it is by working together that they best support their participants. Their partnership with Canning Town Job Centre Plus has just been rewarded with a 2020 ERSA National Employability Award.
Speaking of joining the IEP, Belina Director Liz Sewell FIEP said; “As a Fellow of the IEP I get so much from being part of the IEP, I wanted my team to have that too – access to training, ideas and networks and more. During lockdown the IEP has offered individuals the chance to be part of the national debate and my team have lots to say and learn from that.”
“Belina’s vision is for a world where women feel confident about going back to work and realise the benefit to themselves and their children for the long term. Our innovative approach, as evidenced in our acclaimed GRoW Programme, is forged in mutual-respect and engagement and brings diverse communities together to nurture, learn from and support each other to help them determine their own lives and empower them to make a positive change.”
Belina are passionate about making women of all backgrounds and circumstances feel valued and resilient, and to help them use their transferrable skills to return to work. They help them realise the value of the skills they’ve gained as parents and show them how those skills can translate into a meaningful long-term career.
Belina’s experienced team work closely with women to build their confidence and raise their aspirations so they can consider a life beyond day-to-day survival. They help identify what they really enjoy about their current lives and what they want to change; challenge their perceptions of the barriers they face and encourage them to embark on a new and positive journey, taking small steps to improve their lives and think about what they want to achieve. 9 of Belina’s 11 staff came through their GRoW programme and have the same lived experience as the people they support – women with complex barriers to work.
Since 2004 Belina have helped improve the employability, skills and prospects of thousands of women, offering an open service to all and providing tailored support to address people’s specific needs.
They currently have active programmes supporting women in Hillingdon, Newham, Islington and Croydon and have created partnerships with Local Government, Housing Associations, Family Information Services, Child Poverty Teams, Employability Services, DWP, Children’s Centres, Charities, local schools, Job Centre Plus and agencies and organisations including London Development Agency, Uxbridge College, Gingerbread, Paddington Development Trust and Outreach Services to help our participants access support from the wider community.
Belina offer a range of support and run regular events with their partners and participants offering advice around issues such as Universal Credit and to develop skills and education through courses such as ESOL, retail, employability, leadership skills and IT. They also engage with employers to help their participants gain practical advice about what is available in the workplace.