INTRODUCTION

Unlike lots of people on employability programmes most women don’t have a barrier to working. Most women want to work but can find it difficult due to having external considerations such as caring responsibilities for children or relatives.  Women can quite often experience breaks in their work patterns too which means there can be gaps in their skills and training and they can struggle with their confidence due to being away from the workplace for a length of time.

Here are 10 things you should be aware of and some suggestions for how to support women into employment:

1. Importance of flexible working – Caring for children, even in the 21^st century, is still mainly women’s work. So Mothers with younger children often want to work part-time, term-time and are not willing to travel far because time spent travelling takes time out of working or caring. Part of the job of employability staff is to encourage parents to be flexible about the flexible work they want. Looking at working perhaps full time for two days, weekend or evening work, or even overnight.

Most parents who want to work will need to consider before or after school activities and work out what they want to do in the holidays. Sharing care within their own family, with other families as well as formal care is part of the patchwork people need to put together. Other caring responsibilities fall particularly on women in their 40s, 50s and 60s. 1 in 4 women aged 50-64 has caring responsibilities for older or disabled loved ones. Women aged 45-54 are more than twice as likely as other carers to have reduced working hours as a result of caring responsibilities. Women are also more likely to be ‘sandwich’ carers – caring for young children and elderly parents at the same time.

Carers UK research on sandwich carers and the workplace showed that women were four times more likely than men to have given up work because of multiple caring responsibilities.  It helps for Advisers to understand this and appreciate the need for women who have caring responsibilities to be in employment that allows them to be flexible.

2. Effective signposting – Many women who are looking for work on employability programmes are lone parents. There are around 2million lone parents in the UK and around 90% are women¹. Lone Parents make up 11% of JSA claimants and those on income support in UC areas must get ready for work once their youngest child is three.

For women who have recently become lone parents it can be a scary time for them and they need to know they are not alone and they can get help from a range of support groups for advice and to share their experiences.  Gingerbread.org.uk provides expert advice and practical support and is a good place to start.

3. Promote the benefits of working – There are many reasons why women should be encouraged to work. Work helps to build self-worth and self- esteem, offers personal and financial independence, the opportunity to lead by example and a sense of fulfilment. Women need support to stretch their imaginations about what they CAN do. They need to understand that even though working 10am – 2pm fits in with their family life they should explore all their options and try to make provisions in order to reap the benefits of a more fulfilling career.

4. Practicalities of working – The cost of housing is an issue for everyone now and the benefits cap has added to the problem for many people. There is a lot of work that can be done to help support people who want to stay where they want to live but they need to also understand that sometimes this is not possible if they really can’t afford to live there. Looking at in-work benefits and whether the customer would be better off working can be an incentive to help support them into work.

5. Understand the pitfalls – Now with Universal Credit women need help to understand where they stand with regards to their benefits if they do start work. The issues around Universal Credit waiting times can create a huge problem for women, especially if they have young dependents. They need to know that any in-work benefits they receive will enable them to pay for childcare and other associated costs of working such as travel and clothes. Using a benefits calculator such as the Turn2us online calculator can help women to find out what they are entitled to but they need to factor in what would happen if their benefits are delayed.

6. Help them to be prepared – Some parents worry about how they will fit everything in, there are still only 24 hours in a day! Help them to understand that though they will need to organise some things differently, they will likely find that they actually get more done when they go back to work. Practical timesaving tips from parents can help.

7. Improve employability skills – Many women have been away from the workplace for quite some time if they have had more than one child. This can often present a practical issue that their skills, knowledge and training is just not up to scratch. Rather than just take the first job they are offered or seek low-level employment, women need to feel supported to seek a job they actually want to do and then look at the skills they need to achieve it. Taking the wrong job can be traumatic if it doesn’t work out and can severely affect a person’s motivation.

8. Build confidence and self-esteem – When someone’s been away from the workplace for a long time it can have a damaging effect on their confidence which in turn affects motivation to work as they feel it’s just too difficult and that they lack what it takes to get a job. Women need to see that if they’ve had children and brought up a family then they can certainly manage a job and they need to understand that the skills they have gained as mothers are incredibly useful and transferrable.

There are significant skills and talents that women can bring to the workplace. Women are notoriously proficient in multi-tasking, they typically have strong nurturing skills suited to personal and team development; they do better in achieving qualifications and they are extremely good at adapting to change.  Women should be valued, nurtured and supported to reach their own independent goals in life of which employment can play a key role. They need to analyse their skills, needs, strengths and passion to help them find out the relevant information they need to seek the job that is right for them, their family and their future.

9. Don’t be afraid of getting it wrong – Many people on unemployment programmes can be reflectors, they worry about what might happen. Most women are quite pragmatic and good at getting what they need for themselves and their families. This is a strength and they should be encouraged to take risks but they should be supported in doing so. The best way to do this is for them to speak to other people who have taken risks and learned from their experiences. Group sessions and motivational training programmes are a great way to do this and to help women build support networks with people in a similar position to them.

10. Engaging employers – Most people have some barriers to employment but its providing solutions to those barriers and then communicating those solutions to the right employers that matters. Employers need to be properly engaged and Advisers need to broker professional employer relationships to overcome barriers and promote the benefits of employing women. Making jobs that actually appeal and work well for women should be a priority in the millennium age.

It is in everybody’s interests to create an environment for people to be able to combine family and caring roles with work that helps them thrive as a unit. Whilst the gig economy and zero contract hours enables flexibility not all employers offer these terms and, often they can be poorly paid with no guaranteed income. Women should be made aware of all of their employment options and even consider self-employment so they can decide what works best for them.

 

^{1 and 2} ONS (2016) Families and households, 2016. Table 1.

 

 

Building confidence and developing employability skills

Get Ready for Work at Cranford Park Academy,
Belina – a partner in the SWEET Project AND FAMILY WORKS

This group is made up of mums from the school who want to get back to work. Belina is working together with the group to develop confidence and to help them understand how they can build on their existing skills to get back to work. Before we prepare formal CVs we do an activity whereby we put the parents into groups and ask them them to prepare a poster for employers that promotes the skills and characteristics of Mothers.

Mums R Greatest – or Umbrella ella ella …

The first group showed a mum whose skills are represented by a large umbrella that is made up of all the tasks she undertakes to care for her family and keep them safe (and dry).

 

All in one – Get a Mum!

The second group showed the transferable skills Mums have – shopper, tutor, driver, that make her a fantastic Personal Life Assistant

 

Service with a smile

With her big smile and hands, the third group made clear that Mums are multi-talented, super skilled and nurturing.

Having the chance to work together and think about their skills and characteristics in relation to what employers need enables the parents to talk about all the things they do already and consider how an employer might value them. As we move on to the more formal part of the session mums are already feeling more confident about what they can achieve and how they can look at the jobs on offer and tailor their existing skills to each role.

 

Working with local partners

The success of the programme has come  in great part from the partnership developed with the supportive and insightful Family Support Worker at the School, who has facilitated getting the parents to the group through one to one activity and putting publicity out to parents.

 

Sweet participants – leadership

Anila Saif, Sweet participant, who attended our GRoW programme in the Spring at the Macmillan Children’s Centre is now working with the parents as part of the Belina team – helping them to prepare their CVs and advising them on local courses and activities. Her strong local knowledge and personal experience of getting back to work whilst having four children under ten (including two under three) has made her a role model for parents on the new GRoW programme.

A key element of Belina’s Get Ready For Work  approach is to link with local groups and organisations to help women build their confidence and self esteem and support them into suitable, sustainable employment.  One of these organisations in Croydon is Empowering Tamil Families which specialise in providing practical and social support services to the Asian community and  is making a huge practical difference to local people’s lives.

Empowering Tamil Families is run by Parent Support Worker and Health Champion Yoga Jeyasuntaram and her Positive Parenting and Positive Thinking Workgroup operates each week at Broad Green Library in Croydon.  The Group has been working together since January 2017 to provide a wide range of support to local Tamil women offering advice on issues from relationships, parenting, finance, budgeting and domestic abuse to assertive communication, volunteering, practical skills and employment opportunities.

Yoga explains “We set up the Positive Parenting and Positive Thinking Workgroup in response to local demand from women who said they needed some kind of class or support group to help them improve their skills.  Many of the women we work with are hugely talented and possess really useful skills that would be of value to employers but they need help to improve their English speaking, communication and presentation skills. Through the funding we have received from Croydon Council’s Asian Resource Centre we have been able to offer a range of support that includes partnering with Belina Consulting’s Get Ready for Work Programme to deliver end to end support to improve these women’s education, skills, knowledge, confidence, performance, employability and ultimately their life chances and the life chances of their families.”

Adults and parents enrolling on The Positive Parenting and Positive Thinking Workgroup are first given support with their English reading, writing and spoken English.  The GRoW Programme then delivers specialist support that focuses on raising women’s self esteem and confidence and helping them to understand the skills, talents and capabilities they have and how they can put them to use in employment.  GRoW also delivers training to help people prepare for finding a job, such as cv writing and communication, presentation and interview skills.

Yoga said “In Tamil culture women are generally not expected to work and are encouraged to stay at home to look after their children.  When they come to our Workgroups they can see the skills they have are of real value and that they can improve their lives through work.  We have had around 40 people on our courses and the feedback we have received is that they are growing their self esteem and building their confidence and motivation. We are also very pleased to have seen two of our customers find work through our support.  We have a volunteer called who works with us who is still working at the age of 65. She is extremely talented and has skills in sewing, tailoring, jewellery making, cooking, beauty therapy and child care.  Many of the women we work with have similar skills and we are helping them understand that these skills are highly regarded and can be very employable”.

Ahila Mathew works with Yoga and Liz providing mainly administrative support “Most of the women who come to our courses really struggle with speaking and understanding English and so part of my job is to translate for them and to help them with filling in forms. We also have an English volunteer called Irene Jorke who does great work in supporting our Spoken English class. The feedback we are getting is that it is making a big difference to improving their lives. They enjoy coming and taking part in the group sessions and the 1:1 sessions they have with Liz are really useful.  As I am supporting them by translating to English they are able to get their point across, be understood and ask the kind of questions they haven’t had the opportunity to ask before” said Ahila

Liz Sewell, Belina Consulting Director and Founder of GRoW, said “The work that Yoga, Ahila and the Empowering Tamil Women team are doing in Croydon is invaluable. Engaging with people in the right way to help them understand they have talents and skills is the first step to improving their confidence, motivation and self esteem.  This ground work is absolutely paramount to helping people prepare for employment and we are delighted to partner with such a great organisation that recognises the importance of providing this type of support and realising that it is central to improving people’s employability. We look forward to continuing our work together and to help support more local Tamil women into suitable employment”.

Find out how the GRoW Programme helps women get ready for work here

This GRoW project is funded by the European Social Fund and Building Better Opportunities.

Belina is delighted to be part of the team working with Kennedy Scott on their the new Help to Work project.

Help to Work is a highly innovative back-to-work project that aims to tackle worklessness amongst the most disadvantaged in the Coast to Capital LEP region. This includes Croydon, Brighton and Hove, Worthing  and parts of West Sussex and Surrey. The project will support a wide range of participants including lone parents, those with language barriers and individuals with disabilities and complex health conditions.

The three year project will support 800 individuals and marks an important milestone for Kennedy Scott as it includes the launch of their new Help to Work marketplace (e-Circle of Support), which is an extension of the organisation’s highly successful Circle of Support model.

Alongside traditional employability and skills training, participants on the programme will have access to Kennedy Scott’s e-Circle of Support. A ‘shop for support’ online marketplace, revolutionary within the sector. This brings together in one place – skills, wellbeing and employment services, specifically for their customers. Participants are given a £100 budget to spend on products and services that can help support them towards employment, giving them responsibility over their journey back to work. It include things like retail vouchers for interview clothing, wellbeing support, courses and qualifications.

Participants will also be offered traditional employability and skills training which will include support in CV writing, confidence and motivation building classes, condition management advice and a job brokering service.

Commenting on the start of the contract, Teresa Scott, CEO of Kennedy Scott said:

“I am delighted that Kennedy Scott are now expanding their reach across the Coast to Capital LEP region, in this innovative programme for the most marginalised in our society.

“We have, in conjunction with our local partners, developed a really innovative e-Circle of Support marketplace, which empowers the customer to take ownership of their development and provides a state of the art tailored, digital support platform from which they can choose a wide range of local training interventions.

“It will change the face of the employability support for the future and ensure that we are providing the best possible opportunities for our customers, where it matters most, in their local area.”