Tees Valley Rural Action – For Darlington, alongside the 4 other Tees Valley Voluntary Development Agencies, have been commissioned by the Learning & Work Institute & Tees Valley Combined Authority to collate “an accurate picture of how the voluntary & community sector provides employment-related support, including IAG and mentoring/coaching services”.
The New Futures initiative is part of a national pilot – funding having been obtained by the Learning & Work Institute from the Covid-19 Support Fund for work in 5 areas across the UK, including Tees Valley,. The idea is to develop & deliver pilot programmes to support workers to re-skill following the pandemic. The pilot will run from Spring 2022 to September 2023.
To be eligible for the programme people will have had their employment impacted by the pandemic. The target cohort for the pilot will be Tees Valley residents over the age of 35 who have been unemployed for 0-24 months – including those who have been on furlough – and/or those who have changed sector/occupation due to the impact of Covid-19 but are wanting to change career to a more sustainable occupation in areas of growth within Tees Valley.
The information is being collected with a view to VCS organisations potentially being commissioned by the Learning & Work Institute to deliver components of the New Futures programme. According to the Institute:
“Each pilot will include:
- Tailored and targeted outreach activity
- High quality careers advice and coaching based on local labour market information, future skills needs and local skills profiles.
- Local sector-based partnerships to identify and/or develop training for specific career pathways and jobs.
- Flexible models of training delivery including intensive short courses delivered face-to-face and/or online – to fit with adults’ wider work and family commitments.
- Financial support for career changers to ensure affordability and reduce cost barriers to re-skilling.”
NB One of the key differences between this and other employment-related programmes is recognition that some people whose employment was impacted by the pandemic may have now obtained alternative employment but may still wish to re-skill and move into a different role. All provision therefore will need to be flexible to suit both employed and unemployed participants.”
If you are interested in being included on the spreadsheet we’re compiling for the Learning & Work Institute then please advise info@teesvalleyruralaction.co.uk.
We estimate that the time necessary to gather the required information will be around 15 minutes.
