St Mungo’s St Mungo’s Skills & Employment Programme Don Macdonald

St Mungo’s St Mungo’s are the largest homeless service provider in London We provide 1500 beds We give housing advice in six London prisons We run the largest skills & employment programme in Europe 2

3 Needs & Barriers Unemployment is higher for this group, higher than 15 years ago & lacking recent experience of work 52% had Literacy/Numeracy needs 69% with complex needs, which hinders regular commitment to education or work experience Perceived & real benefits gaps also prevent service users going into work

4 Key Aim “The key aim of our Skills and Employment Strategy is to help more homeless people to get the skills and self confidence that they need to become employable, move into and be successful at work as a key element in gaining independence.”

Programme Elements 1.Activities 2.Advice & information 3.Work experience & vocational skills 4.Job search 5.In work support 6.Employment for service users 6

1. Activities Meaningful activities—usually in our hostels –Social (Games, trips) –Skills (Cooking, IT) –Creative (Music, Drama) –Fitness (Gym, swimming) 7

2. Advice Advice & information, backed by guidance & support Lead to action planning Literacy & IT support Employability skills (eg problem- solving, time-keeping) 8

3. Work experience & vocational skills Volunteering Painting & Decorating Brickwork & Plastering Carpentry Gardening 9

4. Job search Carried out at Rushworth St. Training Centre- CV writing Financial Assistance Interview Skills & Practice Job applications 10

5. In work support In work support Self–employment support 11

6. Employment for service users St Mungo’s has a commitment for 8% of its staff team to be service users. It has reached 4% We employ around 15 apprentices, from former service users annually. Members of Outside In, the service user participation group, receive training & gain volunteer status 12

Programme Numbers Activities 799 Advice & information 330 Work experience/ vocational skills 131 Job search 215 In work support 150 Employment for service users 35 13

Issues Funding, funding, funding…….. Private sector taking lion’s share of the employment contracts & are likely to cherry pick higher achievers Colleges still not doing very much 14

Answers ? Trust funds--Mungos’ raises £2 million a year. More links with RSLs on what ? … Apprentices? Care sector staff ? Better partnerships with prime contractors on Government funded schemes 15