Please note, this list of organisations that can help you find employment is intended as a guide to some organisations locally who support people into work. It is not an exhaustive list and there are others who may also be able to provide help.
STEP ON
Part of North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust, STEP ON supports people who experience mental health difficulties, but who are now ready to return to or look for paid employment. The STEP ON team is made up of skilled employment specialists who provide advice and support on possible career opportunities, focusing on a person’s abilities and aspirations. STEP ON work closely with employers to identify job opportunities and to match suitably skilled candidates. To access the team, your Care Coordinator will need to make a referral and you must be ready to look for work.
Contact information
Judith Champion – 07515 191218
Jennifer Hawkins – 07515 191219
Maria Walthall-Thomas – 07515 199305
Email: StepOn@northstaffs.nhs.uk
An information booklet and leaflet are available at www.combined.nhs.uk/ourservices/AMHC/SO/Pages/default.aspx
Changes Health and Wellbeing – Advance Course
Changes runs three wellness and three employment sessions, available to you if you are aged 18+ and unemployed. Each session lasts for three hours and are followed up by a one-to-one coaching session.
Contact information
Tel: 01782 411433 or 07801 933244 (speak to Ann, Kev or Eddi)
Email: jetadvance@changes.org.uk
Web: www.changes.org.uk/html/jet_advance.html
Remploy
Remploy provide support for people with disabilities to help find employment through their workchoice programme.
Contact information
Remploy
The Hope Centre
Garth Street
Hanley
Stoke-on-Trent
ST1 2DA
Tel:0300 456 8069
Email: stoke@mail.remploy.co.uk
Web: www.remploy.co.uk/
The Riverside Housing Association – Stoke-on-Trent
Unemployed tenants of the Riverside Housing Association are offered training and support to find employment. Their website provides information on apprenticeships, offers practical advice on finding work and how to write a CV. They also run community job clubs and have a digital hub to help people look for work and update their skills. Even if you are not a tenant of the Housing Association, visit their website to pick up on some of the advice offered around searching for work and writing a CV.
Web: www.riverside.org.uk/you-your-home/employment-training/
The Riverside Employment and Training Service – for people with a learning disability
Riverside Employment and Training Service, run by Stoke-on-Trent City Council offer a pre-employment programme for people with a learning disability. Referral to the team is via a social worker. The team spend time working through an Employment Star with service users to identify their skills and experiences. This results in a report with recommendations for further support, whether this be with the team or another agency. If you don’t have a social worker you can get in touch with the contact centre and ask for a social worker to be attached to you. They are also able to offer a supported work programme for people who are ready for work and will work with employers to identify suitable roles for people with a learning disability.
Contact information
The Riverside Employment and Training Service
Unit 7-8
Riverside 2
Campbell Road
Stoke on Trent
ST4 4RJ
Tel: 01782 236030
The Prince’s Trust
The Prince’s Trust offer eight core programmes to help 13-30-year-olds who are unemployed or struggling at school to transform their lives. These are:
- Mosaic Mentoring – accredited mentoring programmes which are run in schools by Mosaic, creating opportunities for young people growing up in the most deprived areas
- Achieve – a personal development course for 13-19-year-olds who are at risk of underachievement or exclusion. The course offers a practical approach to learning to help fulfil potential
- Get Started – short courses run by professional tutors in sport, music and creative arts for 16-25-year-olds
- Development Awards (cash awards) – for 14-25-year-olds to help make getting back into work, education or training easier
- Get Into – a short vocational course that develops young peoples skills in a specific sector for 16-25-year-olds
- Enterprise Programme – helps unemployed young people aged 18-30 with support and funding to work out if their business ideas are viable and whether self employment is right for them
- Fairbridge Programme – works with young people aged 16-25, giving them the motivation, self confidence and skills they need to change their lives
- Team – a 12-week personal development course for 16-25-year-olds offering work experience, qualifications, practical skills, community projects and a residential week
Contact information
The Prince’s Trust Stoke Centre
25-31 Tontine Street
Stoke-on-Trent
ST1 1LY
Tel: 01782 207000 (for details of courses and schemes operating locally)
Web: www.princes-trust.org.uk/help-for-young-people
Landau
Landau isa supported employment and work-related training organisation that aims to provide people with learning disabilities or long-term health issues, the long-term unemployed and young people, with the skills and support they need to find sustainable employment. A range of supported programmes are offered that meet the needs of those with severe learning disabilities and difficulties and also those who have been long term unemployed through health issues. Each person has their own coordinator who will be with them throughout the programme providing support every step of the way.
Contact information
Landau Training & Enterprise Centre
Waterside Drive
Stoke-on-Trent
ST3 3NW
Tel: 01782 324 398
Web: www.landau.co.uk
The Shaw Trust
The Shaw Trust support disabled and disadvantaged people towards employment through either Work Choice or the Work Programme in the following areas:
To access services, you need to be referred by your Jobcentre Plus to qualify for assistance and fall within one of the following categories:
- You have a disability or mental health issue
- You are young and not in education, employment or training
- If you have been referred as an ex-offender
- If you have problems with drug and alcohol misuse
- If you have been diagnosed with cancer
They offer a range of services and can help with learning and skills, preparation for employment and finding a job.
Contact information
Work Choice and Work Programme
1st Floor
Churchill House
Regent Road
Hanley
Stoke-on-Trent
ST1 3JJ
Tel: 03003 033108
Job Centre Plus
In the past, Job Centre Plus helped those who were currently employed, as well as the unemployed. Now they only provide assistance to those who are unemployed and claiming benefits, though anyone can search for a job at the Job Centre Plus website, touch screen Jobpoints or via Jobseeker Direct. Job Centre Plus services provides, online job searching, CV preparation and interview techniques. They aim to provide you with all the information you’ll need to help you find a rewarding job. They also have links to many job websites that list the most up-to-date vacancies.
Ayudante
Ayudante C.I.C is a Community Interest Company, with the objective to provide meaningful employment to local disadvantaged people. They achieve this by operating a sub-contract manufacturing facility in Stoke on Trent providing a range of services to support our clients and also re-condition bicycles. Their mission is: ‘To create opportunities for local disadvantaged people, by offering in-house employment, work placements, training and development to help individuals progress into the future job market.’
Contact information
Ayudante
Precision Studios
430 King Street
Longton
Stoke-on-Trent
ST4 8DB
Tel: 01782 311883 (speak to David Wells)
Web: www.ayudante.co.uk
JET (Jobs Enterprise and Training)
The Jet scheme helps people who are unemployed get back into work or start their own business. Although it is based in Stoke-on-Trent, JET operates outreach services in all communities across the city and offers work-based training specific to the individual’s needs. Jet is a partnership project and is only possible with the support of several organisations. One of the main priorities for the Jet is to reduce the number of unemployed people in Stoke-on-Trent and create a highly skilled, flexible local workforce that will contribute to a more diverse and competitive local economy. This will ensure that the new opportunities, will be available to local people by preparing them with the right skills and training. Jobs Enterprise and Training (Jet) is one innovative project that will help to achieve this goal both for individuals and for businesses in Stoke-on-Trent.
Contact information
Tel: 01782 231214 or 01782 231215
Base 87, Blurton
Base 87 is a Community Interest Company which provides training and employment support for young people aged 16-24. They aim to build on an individual’s achievements and help secure employment.
Contact information
Base 87
87 Meaford Drive
Blurton
Stoke-on-Trent
ST3 2BB
Tel: 01782 461820 (ask for Nick Lumley)
Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/Base87CIC/
Interserve Learning & Employment
Interserve’s delivers education and work-based learning that will support economic growth. It works with public and private sector clients to meet their needs by combining tailored learning with employability skills. They are the joint third largest supplier of the government’s Work Programme and one of the SFA’s leading providers, delivering around 7,000 apprenticeships a year, supporting individuals, helping them gain the qualifications and experiences they need to build careers.
Contact information
1st Floor
Lancaster Buildings
High Street
Newcastle-under-Lyme
ST5 1PG
Tel: 0333 444 0258
Libraries in Stoke-on-Trent
Provide support with CVs, job applications etc.