|
 |
news - Third Sector Future Jobs Fund Opportunities
Update - 1st June 2010
As a result of contracting changes brought about by the new
government, resulting in the withdrawal of up-front payments
for new contracts, learn EAST has decided to not take
up the contract with 3SC.
Could your organisation benefit from another pair of hands?
Would you be prepared to give a young person a job in your
organisation for six months?
What if it didn’t cost you a penny?
Interested Now?
From May 2010 the Community and Voluntary Forum Eastern
Region (COVER) will be managing an allocation of Future Jobs
Fund opportunities in the East of England specifically for
Third Sector employers.
We are looking for organisations willing to offer a six
month period of employment to a young person aged 18 -24 who
is currently unemployed. The employing organisation will
have a delivery agreement and receive support and payment
via COVER who are acting as the contractors for 3SC who are
the prime contractor for Future Jobs Fund in this instance.
To enable you to do this, Future Jobs Fund provides a
“grant” for employing organisations (present indication is
that this will amount to approx £5700) to cover 25 hours per
week at minimum wage plus on costs, as well as some funds to
support the development of the employees work skills over
the 6 month period – this could be in the form of
mentoring/training.
If you wish, your organisation may offer more than 25 hours
of employment each week and/or pay above the minimum hourly
wage, however, the additional hours/salary you might wish to
offer will not be covered by the scheme’s wage support
grant. The grant remains a fixed sum.
Although this is a Government employment scheme YOU, the
employing organisation, are always in control of the job and
the employee, and the decisions on who you employ are yours
alone. The process is as follows.
- You decide what the job is you wish to offer and
produce a simple job description. The tasks outlined in
the job description should be designed to appeal to a
young person and also be suited to the skills of a young
person at whom the scheme is targeted. It is suggested
jobs are offered as “trainee” positions so as to
encourage young people new to employment, or those who
have been employed for some time, to apply in the
knowledge that they won’t need to have all the skills in
place on their first day. Staff at COVER can help you to
compile a suitable job description, if required.
- You submit the job description to your local
jobcentre, or COVER can do that for you if you wish.
- The Jobcentre will contact you when they have a
suitable candidate, or candidates, with an interest in
your job.
- You interview any candidates sent by the jobcentre
and, hopefully, find one who you think is suitable. If
you do not think a candidate is right for the job on
offer you do not have to appoint him or her.
- You issue a fixed term contract of employment for
the young person based on the number of hours per week
you decide to offer them. There is no expectation that
you will continue to employ the young person after 6
months (unless of course you wish to do so), however,
during their employment with you, you will be expected
to offer them some mentoring/support to help them to
increase and improve their job seeking and work skills.
If, after the six months, you wished to explore the
possibility of keeping the young person employed with
your organisation as an apprentice COVER can help you do
this.
- As soon as the new employee starts with your
organisation you will sign a partner delivery agreement
with COVER and we will pay you the “starters” portion of
the grant. Thereafter, we will pay you the wage support
instalments every month, for as long as the employee
remains in your employment, until the end of the six
month contract of employment.
- If the employee leaves or finds a permanent job
elsewhere within the 6 month period the wage support
grant will cease. You will, however, be able to offer
the post up again and take on a new employee under a new
agreement.
COVER would like to gauge the potential demand from
organisations who might wish to take up this opportunity
so that we can provide more detailed information about
the programme once the contract with 3SC is finalised.
If you think your organisation could use another pair of
hands, perhaps helping with admin/reception duties,
working in a charity shop, on youth, community or
environmental projects, indeed any role that you feel
would help a young person get back into the job market,
then we would like to help you take advantage of this
offer.
If you are interested, please complete and return the
Expression of Interest Form and someone from
COVER will contact you with further details.
Regards
Nikki Bennett
Third Sector Strategic Skills Manager
COVER
Eagle Stile, Rectory Farm Barns, Walden Road, Little
Chesterford, Essex, CB10 1UD
Tel: 01799 532888 or 07796001361 |