Impact Newsletter - March 2023

JETS comes to a flying finish

Unprecedented. Unparalleled. Unbeatable.

Job Entry Targeted Support (JETS) officially launched on Monday 5th October 2020. A time that saw hundreds of thousands of people displaced from work by the Covid pandemic, facing health and social challenges never experienced in peace times. Its aim was simple, albeit mammoth: get unemployed people affected by the pandemic back to work quickly.

As an existing provider of the Department for Work and Pensions’

Work and Health Programme, Ingeus was one of a handful of trusted providers with the expertise, scale, and connections to effect meaningful change in the tumultuous UK labour market through this new service.

Amanda Newell, Head of Delivery at JETS said: “JETS enabled Ingeus to do what it does best, enabling better lives by putting local people in local jobs. To do that in the height of a pandemic demanded new solutions, new technology, and new expertise. Its success is testament to the incredible teams who delivered it and the resilient, purposeful jobseekers who embraced it.”

JETS by name, JETS by nature… it was a challenge we responded to in type:

mobilising quickly, professionally, and with people’s wellbeing always at the heart of our services. It worked incredibly well, in incredible times.

JETS has been heralded as the most successful employability programme to date, and its legacy will last long beyond the completion of services in April 2023.

A fast-moving back-towork action plan

JETS provided employability support including CV writing, job searching, interview technique, reviewing transferable skills, and confidence building to jobseekers receiving benefits and actively searching for work. [Continued on page 2]

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International Women’s Day

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Ingeus upskills jobseekers

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Great British Workplace Wellbeing Awards

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Referred through the Jobcentre Plus network, participants were typically newly unemployed and received support for up to six months from a dedicated Ingeus employment coach, with access to thousands of online resources, and an army of health specialists and partner organisations. It offered tailored, flexible support for people facing unfamiliar territory.

“I really feel empowered after being on the JETS programme. I felt listened to at every stage, they delivered empathetic help from the first telephone call. Now I’m back in work, contented and truly grateful for the support from JETS.”

Marlo, JETS customer

Of equal merit was JETS’ sector-based approach, supporting employers and responding quickly to local need by upskilling and pivoting jobseekers into available jobs – many of which they may never have considered.

“I took Groundwork London’s JETS

programme over in 2021 and there were elements that required additional support from Ingeus. From this partnership we have been one of the top performers in London. Alongside this partnership our Employment Liaison Officer has an excellent working relationship with Ingeus’ Employee Account Manager. This collaboration has led to excellent job outcomes with Zara (pan London). Overall our partnership with Ingeus has been a complete success!” Nicky Bhatoey-Turnball, Employment and Skills Programme Manager, Groundwork.

Integral to the government’s Jobs Plan, JETS was backed by a £238 million state investment, co-financed by the European Social Fund. It was administered by the Department of Work and Pensions and devolved regional authorities as a separate strand of the Work and Health Programme. Ingeus delivered JETS in the North West, Greater Manchester, and Central London, and supported other prime providers Reed in Partnership and Shaw Trust in the North East and West Midlands respectively.

Ingeus supported more than 65,000 people throughout the service lifetime, and helped more than 35,000 people find work.

Supporting people through the unprecedented cost of living crisis

A critical part of Ingeus JETS was the Money Management Service. The Money Management team provided invaluable help and guidance to help people during the cost-of-living crisis. Most recently, they launched bespoke support for care leavers, during a time when 89% of care leavers have encountered challenges when trying to access financial education support and only 33% receiving support “when they needed it” (MyBnk research). The team created a presentation and webinar on ‘Financial Education for Care Leavers - Money Management’, which people can access for free

Talented mum reaps rewards at Ingeus

up-to-date,” says Preet, who lives in Birmingham. She struggled to find a suitable job until a friend told her about an opening at Ingeus and offered to forward her CV to the manager. Preet got the job as IT service desk analyst and quickly adjusted to life as a busy working mum.

The IT specialist, known as Preet, joined Ingeus in Birmingham in August 2018 as a service desk analyst, and quickly made her mark. In less than two years, she was promoted to team leader.

With 15 years’ experience in the IT industry, it’s clear Preet is passionate about her work. “I have a Master’s degree in computer science and I was really keen on IT from the beginning,” she explains. “I like the challenge and using my skills to make people’s jobs easier and more productive.”

Preet began her journey as an IT network analyst for an IT services provider and went on to join a law company, working as a first-and-second line analyst. She carried out some contract work after leaving the law firm in 2015 but a big life change was coming. When Preet became pregnant, she took a career break to enjoy some family time with her husband and new baby boy.

“When my son was 15 months old, I started looking for IT roles but it was not easy because the industry is always changing and you have to keep

“I worked with some amazing people,” says Preet. “I was always raising my hand to work on different processes to try to improve things and in less than two years I became the IT service desk team leader.”

Keeping on top of the ever-changing world of IT is no mean feat. “The biggest challenge is keeping up with the speed of digital transformation and setting clear goals and objectives, but I like a challenge and solving problems,” says Preet.

Since September 2021, Preet has been tasked with working on a new platform called ServiceNow to make processes more efficient and cost-effective. ServiceNow is a cloud portal and uses a ticketing system to log and resolve any IT issues that might be affecting Ingeus colleagues. After putting herself forward for the project, Preet undertook a ServiceNow Junior developer professional course as well as coding courses to enhance her knowledge. Since joining Ingeus, Preet has also achieved ITIL Foundation certification.

As the business lead on the implementation of ServiceNow, Preet had to work closely with different stakeholders across the company to

discuss their requirements. Since the platform was built, she has been the main point of contact for anything related to ServiceNow and has provided training to all areas of the business.

The introduction of the portal coincides with a new vision for the IT team. Although the team is split into different groups, they all come together under a new name, idigital. “The IT team encompasses different departments but idigital is about simplifying the processes and for me ServiceNow is just the start, making processes easier for end users as well as the IT team,” says Preet.

Preet currently has ten people on her team, including two other women in a traditionally male-dominated field. There is strong camaraderie and a great sense of team spirit which Preet enjoys. She likes to mentor and train her team, taking a hands-on approach.

“I am really lucky to have such a lovely team and to have that bond with them,” Preet continues. “Likewise, if I have any issues I know I can go to my manager straight away. It’s about building relationships and it all starts with being open and trusting each other.”

On a typical day, the whole IT team attends a morning meeting to discuss any problems they might be struggling with. [Continued on page 4]

She thrives on a challenge and is always eager to try new things – and this positive, can-do attitude has truly paid off for Gurpreet Kaur.

These can then be addressed, and any further challenges dealt with.

“We start the day hoping all will run smoothly but every day in the IT industry is different,” says Preet. “When a system goes down you must react quickly, speak to the relevant teams and check the situation. Then you provide updates and send regular communications to the user and

deal with the teams who help fix the problem. This is challenging but when you’re in IT, it’s your day-to-day job.”

Preet is grateful to have been given the opportunity to develop her career at Ingeus and learn new skills. “Ingeus has helped me a lot. Since I joined, I’ve been climbing the ladder, and management has been very supportive. I always get the help and support from my project manager and fellow colleagues. They have been great mentors throughout

my career journey.”

Finally, Preet has some advice for anyone else who might be interested in a career in IT. She says: “If you have recently started a career action plan, focus on improving your IT skills first because it is one of the most diverse fields, combining technical knowledge with a love for innovation. If you improve your IT skills, you can enhance your job prospects.”

International Women’s Day

The campaign for International Women’s Day this year was #EmbraceEquity, with a message that we must all stand together to fully understand the difference between equity and equality, and create conversations about equal opportunities not being enough.

We asked our teams what International Women’s Day means to them and how they are showing their solidary

with women, and they shared their commitments to challenging gender stereotypes, discrimination and bias, and celebrating women’s achievements.

Our People and Culture Director, Juliet Mortiss, also shared her thoughts on why the gender pay gap exists and how women can negotiate a better deal in the workplace. The gender pay gap in the UK currently stands at 14.9% (April 2022), but thanks to our commitment year on year, it’s a different story at Ingeus, and we’ve managed to close our gender pay gap to 0%. Finally, we took the opportunity to highlight our partnership with Smart Works Greater Manchester, who provide employability advice, free workwear, and style tips to women who are unemployed to help them dress to impress at interviews.

Danny Walker pumps energy into new business venture

Ingeus upskills jobseekers to help fill London’s critical IT skills shortage

Ingeus worked with Daniel to make a plan of action and support him through areas he was nervous about. The former coach has now set up a thriving business, working with individuals to build up their fitness and healthy habits.

Want to find out more about Daniel’s journey? You can find his story on our YouTube channel to see how his business has grown.

Each month in London, businesses are seeking to fill 20,000 IT vacancies.

Now a new scheme aimed at unemployed people could be part of the answer to the capital’s critical skills shortage.

The launch of our pilot Digital Skills Training Academy, in partnership with CodeVerse, offers jobseekers from our government-funded employability schemes the chance to learn basic data input and software development skills.

The scheme gives employers not only the chance to recruit work-ready applicants but also to improve their social impact and increase the diversity of their teams.

You can find out more about Codverse on our website

“As the name says ‘Restart’ was restarting my life again.”

Daniel Walker, who struggled with anxiety and depression, needed help to move forward with his life and have some input on how to make this happen.

Health Trainer Zoe receives royal praise

HRH Princess Royal presented Health Trainer, Zoe Gaywood with her well-deserved commendation at the Butler Trust prestigious annual awards ceremony –and shared her own personal praise.

Zoe was one of just 20 well-deserving Commendees from across the UK’s justice sector and was chosen, alongside nine award winners, from over 400 nominations.

Launched in 1985, the awards celebrate those working behind the scenes in the justice system – recognising the hard work and dedication which can all too often go unnoticed.

James Foreman, Regional Manager, East Midlands Personal Wellbeing Team - CRS, nominated Zoe for the award.

Attending the ceremony with Zoe, James said: “Zoe’s commendation is recognition for her outstanding commitment and passion and for her constant determination to go the extra mile to help change lives. Zoe works tirelessly to make a difference – she has an exceptional ability to break down barriers and build successful working relationships with both professionals and people on probation. I am incredibly proud of Zoe, she epitomises why we should all ‘believe in everyone’, one of Ingeus’s core values.”

Congratulations and all the best to those shortlisted and commended for these awards, who are also striving to make a difference.

Great British Workplace Wellbeing Awards

make a true difference to the lives of our nation’s working population.

Ingeus’ People and Culture Director, Juliet Mortiss, was recently shortlisted for Most Inspiring HR Lead in the Great British Workplace Wellbeing Awards.

These awards recognise the people and organisations who are helping to

Juliet says: “I’ve worked from the grass roots up, at all levels of HR and across different sized businesses. It’s given me a grounding in what matters to people on the front line. I’m a working mum and understand the pressures that can bring. My passion is to shape and influence HR strategy and, particularly, to lead the personal wellbeing agenda here at Ingeus.”

Congratulations Juliet!

We know how hard it can be to get into a good routine before bed. Just one more episode on Netflix… let me scroll through TikTok for ten more minutes… Sound familiar?

You can watch the full, informative video on sleep on our social media platforms. Able Futures can also provide further support around sleep and mental health if it’s affecting you work.

World Sleep Day was on March 18th, so we shared some insight from our mental health experts at Able Futures about the impact of sleep and how it can affect us.

Able Futures shine a light on the importance of sleep

Getting to know you...

We asked Giovanni some of life’s essential questions:

Summer or Winter?

Summer

Chocolate or sweets?

All Night or morning?

Morning City or countryside?

Countryside

Cats or dogs?

Dogs

Dressed up or casual?

This month, we’re shining a light on Giovanni Coppola, Business Manager for the Restart Scheme in London.

Giovanni tells us a little more about his role and why he loves what he does:

“I manage and oversee all things Restart Scheme within the Hammersmith office. This includes compliance, performance, finance, people, planning, implementation, and everything in between!

I love that no day is the same as another. Every day brings new challenges and opportunities. We have a bell in the office which we ring when we get someone into work, and when I hear that ring it brings a smile to my face as I know we have enabled someone to have a better life.”

Casual

Phone calls or emails?

Phone calls

Books or films?

Films

Night out or night in?

Night out

Holidays or home comforts?

Long-haul holidays

Giovanni Coppola, Business Manager for the Restart Scheme in London