13 May 2009
Next STEP for unemployed in Spitalfields - City’s community
outreach helps out of work people
The City of London Corporation has renewed its support for an
employment scheme that offers careers guidance and support to ‘hard
to reach’ groups in an area that has one of the highest levels of
unemployment in the country. The Spitalfields Training for
Employment Project (STEP) will offer employability training and job
search support in the form of targeted onsite job clinics within
the City wards of Portsoken and Cripplegate, as well as the
adjacent Tower Hamlets wards of Whitechapel, Weavers and
Spitalfields and Banglatown.
The two-year project aims to engage approximately 90 unemployed
people in the City and Tower Hamlets and will be delivered by East
London Advanced Technology and Training (ELATT) on behalf of the
City of London Corporation and co-financed by the London Councils’
European Social Fund.
From financial assistance towards childcare costs or an
interview suit, to IT and business administration training, STEP
will encourage local residents back into the job market with a
range of tailored supportive tools. Following an in-depth
‘barriers-to-work’ assessment, each participant will tackle their
Individual Development Plan with 12 hours of free support, mostly
in the form of one-to-one work with an expert advisor.
Stuart Fraser, Chairman of Policy and Resources at the City of
London Corporation, says, “The pursuit of long-term employment is
often hampered by a variety of obstacles for people living in and
around the City. The Spitalfields Training for Employment Project
was designed to tackle this problem and motivate the community.
There is a vast spectrum of jobs available in the Square Mile and
we want to see local residents compete for them.”
STEP will follow in the footsteps of its predecessor, the
Spitalfields Employment Project, which ran from 2006-2008. The
project supplied job search support and employment preparation
training to over 200 individuals and recruited 400 people to the
scheme since its inception.
For more information on the Spitalfields Training for Employment
Project, contact ELATT on 020 7275 6750 or visit
www.elatt.org.uk
Ends
Notes for editors
The City of London Corporation
The City of London Corporation is committed to maintaining and
enhancing the status of the business City as a world leading
international financial and business centre and is engaged in many
partnership and regeneration projects across wider London, working
with national and other local government – as well as business and
the not-for-profit sector.
East London Advanced Technology Training:
ELATT inspires people to achieve the skills they need to
flourish in life and work.
ELATT is dedicated to overcoming disadvantage through skills. By
learning new skills people can take control of their lives, enter
work, earn income and self confidence, gain experience and expand
their horizons.
To this end, ELATT works in the heart of local communities to
provide advice, guidance, training, motivation, employment support,
work placements and job brokerage.
Our training focuses on IT skills and Skills for Life support
with courses geared to basic IT use through to hardware maintenance
and English for a wide range of uses and abilities. We also ensure
that all of our IT courses are supported by learning in literacy
and numeracy embedded into the curriculum. Learners are supported
to find work experience and jobs. See more on
www.elatt.org.uk
Press enquiries
Rosalind Jeffcoat or Neil Cassley at Rain UK
T: 020 7222 4345
E:
name.surname@raincommunications.co.uk