'MAKE YOUR LIFE WORK' PROGRAMME

North Tyneside Strategic Partnership is building on the success of last year’s programme and has commissioned new services to help people back to work.

The “Make Your Life Work“ programme, which began last November to help residents of North Tyneside find long-term employment, is already notching up successes with new people getting involved in the services everyday.

The programme aims to help people who have been out of work for a long time because of illness, or who are disabled and lone parents who are struggling to find work.

‘Make Your Life Work’ aims to tackle the barriers that prevent people returning to work, which can include lack of confidence or feeling unsure about how to go about finding a job.

There is support available from a number of organisations, including, Wallsend People’s Centre, Working Links, Jigsaw Training and Contact Centre Professionals.

The services aim to address these issues and make getting back to work easier by bringing the information, support groups and employers into the neighbourhoods.

An exciting new element of support is the WE Challenge delivered by Gibber. This is a great way to gain valuable Work Experience and new skills.

What is the WE Challenge?

As part of North Tyneside Council's employment services, Gibber will be delivering two 'WE Challenge' programmes for unemployed residents.

The challenges will consist of visiting 6 employers around the region and carrying out specific 'challenges' or 'tasks' related to working within that particular company. Previous challenges have included;

  • Making an ornament out of glass at the National Glass Centre
  • Dismantling and equipping a minibus for disabled access at Connect Community Transport
  • Serving food and drinks at the Brewers Fayre Pub 

Each challenge will be at locations across the Tyne & Wear region, allowing clients to meet potential employers and complete a task. Each task will be devised in conjunction with the employer to challenge the teams’ communication, problem solving and organisational skills and will have a direct relevance to the employers business.

On completion of the Challenge all participants celebrate their achievements over the two weeks with a buffet lunch and meet staff from all the partner organisations who can offer continuing support.

1st Challenge     -    10th of November 2008
2nd Challenge    -    16th of March 2009

Further details are available by calling 0191 257 8126 OR view the leaflet

John Harrison, Elected Mayor and Chair of NTSP, said:

"This new initiative is extremely important to our residents, as it can be so difficult to make the transition from being unemployed to getting back into the work place. We want to enable people to become more financially secure by helping them find long-term employment"

"The training and support the ‘Starting 2 Earn’ campaign can offer will not only boost the self esteem and confidence of participants, but it will give them a sense of pride once they are in a job. The people of North Tyneside deserve to be given the chance to make their lives better and we believe this initiative will help them achieve that"