Breaking down barriers
To celebrate placing 100,000 people into work we
recently conducted research into the current profile of long term
unemployed people across Britain.
The ‘Breaking Down Barriers’ research, undertaken with pollster
Populus, approached the long-termed unemployed directly for their
personal insight into the barriers that they face in finding work
and the types of support that they believe will help them back into
the workplace.
Through the research we will be able to build
up a better picture of the people we work with and adapt our
services to reflect their changing needs.
The study shows that less than half of those
surveyed hope to have a job by this time next year and the older
the respondent, the less hopeful they were. The greatest fear in
returning to work was around the potential financial gaps that can
occur when making the transition from benefits to paid work.
The vast majority of those who were questioned
said they appreciated that the benefits of working stretched far
beyond just financial gain.
The report was divided into two key
areas and you can read more detailed findings by clicking each
of the links below.
Employment was cited as a way of “making new friends”,
“establishing a structure to life and new routines”, many helping
them to avoid repetition of criminal activity or substance
misuse.
For parents in particular, it offered the chance to be a
“positive role model” to their children.
Many individuals described how money that was
earned, “felt different, more deserved, more valued and in some way
better”, than money from benefits and there was a strong sense that
individuals did not want to live off “handouts”.
“Our experience of getting people back to work
over the last eight years shows that every individual has a
different set of barriers. Our successful track record is rooted in
providing a tailored programme of support and training to meet the
specific needs of every client.
Our personal consultants work closely with
individuals to achieve sustainable employment and workplace
progression – rather than a ‘quick fix’ solution.”