Employment 4 ALL CIC is very new, very small, but extremely mighty in the numbers that we work with. We only founded in 2021, to combat the social exclusion many job seekers that have experience of disadvantage face trying to gain employment. We deliver a bespoke, holistic, wrap-around approach in the support we provide. We know everyone is an individual and everyone’s journey is different.
We are hands on and provide practical solutions to some of the basic problems and barriers our clients face such as providing Birth Certificates and ID, food, travel costs, appropriate clothing and as you know even providing digital devices for clients to participate in online courses and put on courses like the SIA. Those we support tend to have faced multiple additional barriers to employment such as poverty, severely impacted by Covid 19, homelessness, care leavers, ethic minorities, women, domestic violence survivors, lone parents, migrants, refugees and those with historic low labour market participation.
Despite being a small CIC, we can demonstrate a proven track record of having successfully sourced a large number of training opportunities and sustained employment outcomes for the large numbers of clients referred to us for support. We aim to bring the same services and opportunities to as many people as possible, enabling those we support to gain training, employment, independence, inclusion and control over their lives. We use our experience in employer engagement with large employers like Bidvest Noonan to provide local employment opportunities with revolutionary and forward-thinking employers, who value a diverse and inclusive workforce and vacancies to fill.
TPSO was introduced to Employment 4 All after a recent SIA course at Southwark College. Here is a brief rundown of a typical participant and their journey:
Approximately 2 weeks before the course start date:
Employment 4 All will attend location(s) such as Job Centres, Community Centres, Foodbanks, Referral partners to screen suitable candidates as definitely wanting to work in the Security Industry. We will discuss the benefits and opportunities available if they work with Bidvest Noonan. We make a referral appointment for The Suited & Booted Company (Men) and Dress for Success (Women), for candidates to be provided with suitable interview clothing. We ensure they have the travel costs and fares so they can attend, as required. We also check that candidates have the required ID and where necessary pay for Birth Certificates, Driving Licences and in some cases passports. Candidates also receive 1-2-1 mentoring and employment support sessions and are supported to apply to the HMRC for a copy of the participants’ Employment History, which is required by security employers, as part of the Screening and Vetting. This document will be sent to the participant’s homes and will assist with the prompt and efficient completion of screening. This will contain a breakdown of employer’s names based on each tax year and in many cases will also include a start and end date
1 week before the course:
Candidates are invited to attend Southwark College to enrol with the College, which provides them with a lanyard. The College also provides a free breakfast for the participants. Employment 4 All ensures that candidates have fares in place to attend the course, advance food bank vouchers, we support with food packs and ensure that participants that need support have applied to the Job Centre for Child care cost support with a registered childminder. Myself and my colleague Whitney are on hand and we support with discretionary payments for those in crisis. Examples of issues candidates in the last cohort faced included having no food, no travel costs, a broken washing machine, so needed laundrette money for clean clothes, no phone credit, no electricity, so topped up electricity payment card.
The SIA course
The course was delivered by Bidvest Noonan’s approved SIA training provider. During the course there’s a lot of employer engagement and interviews with Bidvest Noonan. On Day 1 Glen and Training Manager Steve attend to talk about the industry. Managers come in and talk about opportunities on their sites. On the final day, a HR Manager attends to collect ID and carry out final checks. This is easier for the candidates as Employment 4 All can photocopy original ID, bank statements, HMRC Records – as many of the candidates do not have access to printers, wifi at home or digital devices. Bidvest Noonan provides New Starter forms that we can support the candidates to complete and return, if they don’t have devices.
After the course:
Depending on whether candidates complete the course in paper form (recommended if the cohort isn’t completely familiar with IT, so they can cross out wrong answers etc) or online, they will get their results max 10 days (paper) and immediately (online) and can be informed via the SIA account that is set up for them whether they have passed and will be supported with uploading evidence required for the licence, such as ID etc. The cost of the licence will be paid for, for the candidates.
Once the application is in progress for the SIA licence, where checks have been successfully completed Bidvest Noonan can issue an LDN – Licence Dispensation Notice and the participants can start working. Employment 4 All will try our best to ensure Bidvest Noonan can deploy our candidates as security operatives, as soon as possible. Based on the Southwark Bidvest Noonan Security Guarding Programme, other Boroughs have approached me to ask if we replicate the same programme, with the holistic wrap-around support, that welcomes those who otherwise could not afford to join the Security industry. We therefore hope to support more candidates in South London Boroughs and Hounslow Council.
Watch on YouTube: EMPLOYMENT4ALL (CIC)- Supports disadvantaged people and under-represnted groups to gain employment
