Fordingbridge Salvation Army hosts event to mark Employability Day

THE SALVATION Army in Fordingbridge hosted two events to celebrate the achievements of local jobseekers on 3 July – Employability Day.

The church and charity’s Employment Plus service helps people who have faced obstacles to employment such as lack of education, training or life skills, mental health problems, disability, or homelessness, find and stay in work.

People were invited to visit Fordingbridge Employment Plus at The Salvation Army for cake and coffee and to see how the free confidential service can help and support people.

Cara Upham, employment development coordinator at Fordingbridge Employment Plus, said: “The Salvation Army’s Employment Plus service offers tailored support to people who have really struggled to either find work or stay in work. There can be many complex reasons as to why that is, but we believe that helping people to develop their skills and self-belief is key to getting them back into the job market.

“The work we do depends very much on the individual, but a lot of it is confidence building, CV writing, job applications, interview preparation or help accessing computers and courses to build their skills.

“We can also help with benefit applications, money management and housing issues. It’s open to anyone who needs help.

“Our help doesn’t stop when someone finds work, we continue to support them once they have that job. We were recently able to help a young man with very low confidence find a part-time job, but as he struggled a lot with communicating, this was affecting his role.

“I was able to speak to his boss which improved the situation to the point where this young man is now thriving at work, has really improved his confidence and is looking to extend his hours. It really has transformed his life, which is fantastic for us to see.”

Across the UK and Ireland, The Salvation Army has helped 35,000 people with job support in the last 12 months. Of those, www.salvationarmy.org.uk/employmentplus

10,000 have received a full and structured journey towards employment with almost half (43%) gaining employment.

Employability Day was created by the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA), of which The Salvation Army is a member. Its aim is to recognise the contribution of employment support organisations in helping job seekers into sustainable work.