Local charity FSN has been awarded a Community Grant to fund a new project which provides training opportunities to disadvantaged women in Hastings. The project will support women who have been absent and furthest away from the labour market due to caring responsibilities and other factors; such as domestic violence, mental health, lone parenting, family estrangement and breakdown, as well as long-term unemployment.
The ‘Sky’s The Limit’ project will work with 45 local women, providing them with the opportunity to take part in courses to help them build the skills and confidence they need to progress into work, volunteering or training. Those courses will include pre-employment skills, confidence and assertiveness. Wellbeing and personal development courses will address anxiety, stress and poor self-esteem through peer support. There will also be the opportunity for some to complete a City & Guilds Level 2 Award in Support Work in Schools.
CXK has awarded the grant through the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) under their Community Grants Scheme via European Social Fund funding (ESF). CXK will be allocating grants of more than £600,000 in total over the course of the next year; grants which are available organisations which help those furthest from the job market improve their skills and/or get into work or training.
Stephanie Edmonds, Development Director at FSN, said; “Sky’s the Limit is a project designed to help women returners back to work by offering a range of courses in personal development including confidence and employability skills. The project offers women the opportunity to progress onto a City & Guilds Level 2 Award in Support Work in Schools which can lead them into the world of a Teaching Assistant and a long term career in teaching.
“During the spring of 2019, of the women who gained the qualification, 6 out of 9 achieved a position in a school. 100% had previously been out of the labour market with childcare responsibilities, unemployment and health issues. The changes in the women on achieving the qualification and subsequently employment was an increase in confidence and self-assurance and the prospects of improved financial stability.
“The New Sky’s the Limit project, thanks to ESF Community funding via CXK, will run from Autumn 2109 to Summer 2020. It will enable 45 women returners the opportunity to access free courses that will offer optimism, knowledge and skills as they return to the labour market.”
FSN is a charity supporting disadvantaged children, young people and families across East Sussex, in Hastings, Eastbourne, Wealden, and Rother. To find out more, visit: fsncharity.co.uk
