This time last year we were in the country’s first national lockdown. It’s hard to recall a time before that saw so many of us in a similar situation, but we got through it as a collective. And throughout that time the resilience of our customers and their community didn’t falter, nor did our commitment to them.
We knew early on that employment support and access to training would remain vital throughout the pandemic. At the beginning of lockdown we didn’t know just how long we’d need to do things differently, but we were able to quickly adapt our services to still reach customers with support. Some 12 months on, we’re reflecting on the great results we’ve achieved for our customers while acknowledging the change that’s been needed to do that.
Supporting customers into work
Digital platforms have been essential this past year. While we always offered online services alongside in-person workshops and one-to-ones, this is the first time we’ve only been able to offer digital services. But we adapted quickly and were up and running online in just six weeks, giving people access to free employment support and training.
With the easing of restrictions later in 2020 we were also able to get back out and about, with customers attending our very first Sector-Based Work Academy. This was a great success which gave participants practical work experience and the offer of a job interview at the end of it.
While we were able to hold practical sessions in a safe way, we grabbed the opportunity. This combination of digital and practical services has seen good results. In the last financial year we supported 224 people into employment. During a time of mass unemployment, this is a small but really important success. Every job secured is a life enhanced. One customer said:
“The support from Abri to help us get CSCS cards and paid work made the difference between us having a Christmas or not this year. I cannot thank the team enough for the support they gave us.”
Prioritising choice
In the last year we’ve also helped 79 people secure better jobs. Every job is meaningful and worthful, and by ‘better’ we simply mean more financially secure, a role with more responsibility or perhaps giving someone the tools to turn their business idea into a reality. This feeds into our goal of giving customers choice when it comes to their employment, so we offer a variety of services to help with that. Our self-employment course, Create, has been popular during the past year as people start to explore new business ideas. The pandemic has seen a rise in supporting small shops and independent businesses and there has been a real appetite for Create. The course has been running online, but the offering remains the same and we’ve received great feedback. With the introduction of a new Ambassador Scheme, we’ve seen existing business owners share unique advice with new graduates, keeping the community spirit alive.
“Everyone I’ve spoken to at Abri has been great, really easy to talk to and helpful and there really is not anything that I can think of that they could do better.” – Customer feedback
Monitoring the employment environment
We’ve been monitoring the employment landscape throughout the past 12 months. By tracking redundancies and looking at where job opportunities are opening up, we’re better able to tailor our support. We work on a local level, using both our insight into labour markets and knowledge of communities, to learn best how we can increase employment in each area. We connect with partners at local job centres and authorities to take collaborative approaches where possible and that spirit of collaboration is what will steer us this year. Alone we can play our part, but together we can do so much more. Watch this space.
