LABOUR MARKET PROGRAMME A SUCCESS IN SHEFFIELD
Sheffield’s Intermediate Labour Market (ILM) programme has proven to be a big hit for hundreds of people across multicultural communities who have gone on to find employment since it was first launched over seven years ago.
The ILM Programme is run by the Centre For Full Employment (CFFE) and is targeted at those who have multiple barriers to employment. The Programme gives guidance and support to organisations that work in their local communities as well as offer job seekers waged employment in the voluntary, community or environmental sectors for up to a year.
Recently the ILM programme has proven a success for twenty-one-year-old Samina Younis from Fir Vale who made the change from an unemployed trained legal executive to an English as a Second Language (EASL) Teaching Assistant at Hinde House Junior School, thanks to the help and support she received whilst training on her local Bungreave ILM programme.
Samina first got in contact with the ILM programme after being unable to find work as a legal executive. After a period of time applying for positions without any luck, Samina came across an advert in The Burngreave Messenger for an ILM course for Teaching Assistants and decided to apply.
Samina said: “I was getting a bit disheartened after applying for numerous legal executive positions at law firms only to be told I didn’t get the job because I didn’t have enough experience.
“When I came across the ILM advert I had no previous experience or childcare skills but was told when I applied that this didn’t matter because the whole point of the ILM Programme was to train people up with new skills and help find them employment.”
As part of the ILM Programme Samina was given a job placement at St. Catherine’s School where for four days a week she helped with duties including: assisting pupils with reading and writing; classroom displays; school plays; school yard duties; photocopying; and school trips. Samina then spent one day a week doing classroom-based learning at her local community centre, The Furnival where she worked towards her Level 2 Teaching Assistant Qualification, which featured modules including Child Development; Food Hygiene; and First Aid.
Samina said: “The ILM Programme was fantastic as it mixed paid on-the-job training (which built-up my confidence) and experience in the classroom with an actual qualification which I can use to further my career.
“I really enjoyed my time at St. Catherine’s. I learnt so many new skills and got to work with children from all the year groups including the nursery kids. I also occasionally translated Punjabi for some of the pupils’ parents, which I also enjoyed, and it has since proven to be a handy skill to have.
Doug Low of Director for CFFE said: “The ILM programme is open to and is a great opportunity for a wide range of people including old and young people, lone parents, people from different cultural backgrounds and people with disabilities.
“The ILM Programme enables us to help people overcome barriers to employment and gain the confidence to enter the labour market again. It works in communities such as Burngreave to assist people like Samina find paid employment and develop skills that they can then use for further job opportunities.”
Samina concluded: “I’m delighted in my new role and extremely grateful for all the support, training and opportunities I received through the ILM Programme.”
The key aims of the ILM Programme are to reduce the current levels of long-term unemployment, prevent unemployment and providing programmes for those experiencing labour market disadvantages.
