UP will offer employment and wellbeing training and support to 50 people across the three areas.
The project received £58,000 for Gosport and the Charles Dickens area in Portsmouth and £45,000 for Millbrook and Mansbridge in Southampton, from the Solent Support Employment (SSE) Programme.
The SSE programme is part-funded by the European Social Fund (ESF), local authority match funding and donors from Hampshire and The Isle of Wight Community Foundation (HIWCF), through which the programme is managed. Abri has also committed an additional £51,000 to the project.
UP will offer employment and wellbeing training and support to 50 people across the three areas.
As well as regular one-to-one support with an employment advisor and access to a careers hub, the courses will help people:
- Professionalise their CV.
- Search and apply for roles.
- Take part in mock interviews.
- Anxiety and wellbeing sessions.
- Understand and use mindfulness techniques.
The CREATE self-employment course will also be available for those wanting to explore the opportunity of setting up their own business.
All participants will benefit from training followed by two-years of support, with access to highly skilled business mentors, regular business support clubs, marketplace events, continued training, and a dedicated Facebook page.
Grant Cornwell MBE, Chief Executive of HIWCF said: “We are delighted to be working with the European Social Fund, together with our local authorities in Hampshire, to provide this vital opportunity to help and encourage local people to find their way into work. Our communities have been massively impacted by Covid-19 this year and the grant funding from the SSE programme is enabling organisations such as Abri to increase the prospects of vulnerable local people, making a lasting difference to their lives. I would like to thank our funding partners and HIWCF donors for supporting the programme as our work would not be possible without their goodwill and generosity.”