We want to share the success of the GREAT (Getting Ready for Employment and Training) and YES ( Youth Employability Support ) Building Better Opportunities projects funded by the European Social Fund and the National Lottery Community Fund, that Voluntary Action LeicesterShire has managed for the past six years.
The YES and GREAT Projects come to an end this March and we wanted to share the legacy that both projects will leave behind.
We have produced the ‘Reimagined Futures – A Blueprint for Success’ report that we launched at our celebration event at New Walk Museum on 25th January 2023.
The report outlines how, through a compassionate, holistic and tailored approach, together with Delivery Partners we have been able to support people from our local community to overcome their barriers – allowing them to shape a new future for themselves.
We present results, achievements and key milestones, alongside our delivery models and detailed case studies.
Below is an overview of the achievements made by both projects:
The YES Project843 Participants worked with · 78% with a disadvantage* · 29% with a disability · 60% long term unemployed |
The GREAT Project901 Participants worked with
|
| 160 supported into education or training
203 supported into employment 96 supported into job searching
|
90 supported into education or training
184 supported into employment 102 supported into job searching
|
| The YES Project signed up 843 young people against a target of 923 ( 90% overall success) | The GREAT project signed 901 people against a target of 1031 ( 87% overall success ) |
*A participant is considered disadvantaged by the BBO programme by meeting at least one of the following outputs: with a disability, from an ethnic minority group, is homeless or affected by housing exclusion or lacks basic skills or does not have primary or lower secondary education.
Over the last six years, the GREAT and YES Projects, have fulfilled an important role in the employability landscape in Leicester and Leicestershire.
Together, the projects have developed intensive support for long-term unemployed and economically inactive individuals that extends beyond the approach taken by statutory providers.
While these projects end, demand still exists for this type of employability support particularly with the rise in the number of economically inactive individuals. Future projects can gain important insights from the learning of the GREAT and YES Projects. Our success stems from the core purpose of these projects: to provide individualised, holistic interventions that seek to empower individuals by putting them at the centre of their employability, learning and personal journey.
We hope the lessons learnt and shared in more detail can help to inform and shape the development of future Government employability support programmes that address the needs of those furthest from the labour market.
