Five organisations win half a million for returner projects

Five organisations in England have been awarded a total of £489,050 from a new government start-up fund to help people who have taken lengthy career breaks to care for others get back into work.

The five grant recipients will support parents and carers back into the workplace through training, refreshing skills and facilitating work placements, working directly with 79 employers from a range of sectors including law, finance, tech, retail, communications, advertising and marketing.

Launched on 4 March 2018, the government provided a start-up fund of £1.5 million to get people with caring responsibilities back into work. It says £1,010,950 more funding will be awarded this autumn.

The five winning organisations are:

Changing Lives: £95,000

They aim to help 80 returners in the North East who have complex needs such as: homelessness, sexual exploitation, addictions, mental and physical health problems, long-term unemployment and poverty.

Women Returners: £110,000

Women Returners will use the grant to support 100 returners through workshops and training in the legal sector in the North West and Leeds. They will also reform the recruitment and support practices of 12 law firms to enable them to target returners in the future.

St Helens Chamber: £187,000

St Helen’s Chamber will use the grant to engage 120 returners through career coaching using a pop-up classroom. They will equally engage employers in the local area to identify suitable job opportunities and broker recruitment.

Creative Equals: £65,000

Creative Equals will run workshops for 30 returners in the creative industries and support them into roles with 15 employers that will have their recruitment and support practices reformed.

Back2businessship delivered by f1 Recruitment: £32,000

Back2businessship helps those with marketing, PR or communications experience get back to work.  The grant and match-funding from Employer Company Ambassadors will allow them to work with 25 employers in the Thames Valley, including SMEs, to target job opportunities for 40 returners in the technology, FinTech and financial services sector.

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