Talent Match

Leeds City Region Talent Match Project, managed by Your Consortium aim is to engage with approximately 2,300 young people aged 18-24 who are long term unemployed and who require intensive support and coaching through a Key Worker approach in order to access a flexible and responsive pathway which will support them to get into, or closer to work.

Womenzone successfully secured ‘Key Worker’ status with Your Consortium in 2014 and has been running at Womenzone for the past four years, supporting young people who are furthest from the jobs market, including those who are completely outside of the benefits, work and training system and facing severe barriers to gaining the skills they need to get into work.

Talent Match has worked well at Womenzone, it has had a positive effect on the confidence, outlook and wellbeing of participants. Young people have been able to talk about their fears and challenges that they face in accessing employment. Young people have also been able to access support that they would not normally have considered such as counselling, travel training and employability workshops.

The project has presented opportunities for young people, training them up and offering them advice on how to achieve their goals, some have gained employment and others have started apprenticeships or gone back into education.

Overall the project exceeded its outcomes for employment sustainment’s and the feedback from young people has been positive.

Case Study

Sarah came onto Talent Match after having left college with a level 2 qualification in Childcare, she had been searching for an apprenticeship for a year – she had been struggling with this so she contacted Womenzone for support, she was then referred onto Talent Match.

After working with Sarah, she was encouraged to not solely focus on further training but also search for employment opportunities, Fahima was apprehensive about this but we worked on her confidence, Sarah attended a Paediatric First Aid Course paid for by Talent Match to support her applications when applying to schools and as of January 2019 Sarah secured employment with Thornbury Primary Leadership Academy as a learning assistant.

‘My job is going great, I work with nursery children with special needs and behavioural issues, I love the work as I get to work with different age groups, I’ve been offered me further training, the staff are so supportive and I am finally earning!’

For further information please contact Abida Hussain

abidahussain@womenzone.co.uk