Issue No.10 / June 2022
What’s inside...
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Ingeus fly the flag for Pride month
NCS launch changemake video
United Nations World Food Programme visits Berlin Spandau’s Refugee Integration Programme
Restart Scheme and CRS celebrate oneyear anniversaries June marked not one, but two programme milestones in Employment and Justice.
The Restart Scheme, delivered on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions, recognised its first anniversary at the end of the month, and what better way to celebrate than to look back on the last 12 months’ achievements! The Restart Scheme came at a time of national need, as the country saw soaring unemployment levels caused by the pandemic. With employment sectors such as hospitality and tourism virtually wiped out, our teams had to find innovative ways to support many who found themselves without a job for the first time in their lives. Issue no.9 / May 2022
We opened 25 new centres and recruited more than 1000 new team members to help deliver the contract in Central and West London, Greater Manchester, and as a supply chain partner to Serco in the West Midlands. In our Central London and Manchester operations, we have helped the equivalent of a full bus load of people back into employment every week, starting their journey to new paid roles each working day of the year. The Restart Scheme provides vital support to those in need and we want to take this opportunity to thank you all for your incredible efforts in helping thousands of people towards a brighter future. Here’s to the next 12 months! Meanwhile, our CRS (Commissioned Rehabilitative Services) team were also recognising their one-year anniversary.
accommodation support, 3,102 with education, training and employment, and 4,130 with personal wellbeing services. By supporting people to break down any barriers to their rehabilitation, CRS aims to help people reduce reoffending and create safer communities. It’s important to note that the CRS contracts are just one part of the work done by Ingeus’ justice division. The wider picture reveals that in 2021 we supported more than 20,500 people to reintegrate into their communities upon leaving the criminal justice system. This included assisting over 7,000 people into employment. You can read more about both the Restart Scheme and CRS on our website.
Our 170-strong team have supported more than 2,257 people with Ingeus Newsletter
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Ingeus fly the flag for Pride month June was Pride month and Ingeus joined in the celebration of LGBTQIA+ communities all around the world. Across the business teams took part in a range of activities, including hiring a face painter at our Jobs Fair in Hackney and partnering with Mermaids, a British charity and advocacy organisation that supports gender variant and transgender youth, to deliver staff information sessions. Our colleagues and members of the LGBTQIA+ group also bravely shared their powerful stories and experiences on why Pride month is so important to them. David O’Brien, Chair of the LGBTQIA+ group, explains why it is so important: “Being part of the group is important to me as I want to help ensure that Ingeus is a leader in diversity and inclusion and fully representative of the communities and people we support - to ensure that, I need to be committed, passionate and able to support in taking action rather than sitting on the side line waiting for things to happen.
Issue no.9 / May 2022
Ingeus Newsletter
Celebrating Pride to me is about living openly and being proud to be myself, this is something that I struggled with during my teenage and early adult years both personally and professionally. It is to be accepting of myself and others, being proud to be part of a community and being embraced by the acceptance of family, friends, colleagues, and allies. Pride is also a reminder, and a chance to reflect, on the sacrifices and struggle of the generations before me and what they accomplished. I give thanks to them and remind myself to do all I can to pay that forward. There is still much to do!” By continuing the conversations around indifference we continue to raise awareness and help change the perceptions and attitudes of those in society, moving us one step closer to inclusiveness.
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FutureYou helps Derek out of a rut Time management was a real problem for 22-year-old Derek Williams, who was experiencing unhealthy sleep patterns. He would stay up until the early hours playing video games – and get up late the next day. He was going through a difficult period in his life when he joined the FutureYou programme delivered by Ingeus. Derek had been to college to study childcare but decided it was not the right career path for him. He then enrolled on the government’s Kickstart scheme and started a work placement but left prematurely due to stress. Derek lost his mum in the summer of last year and was struggling to express his emotions.
Ingeus mentor enrolled him on a 12-week Prince’s Trust course. This has proven to be a positive turning point for Derek, who has now broken out of his unhealthy late-night routine. He used to struggle to get up in the mornings but now he’s up at 7am every day. He has formed strong relationships with his peers and thoroughly enjoyed a residential week away.
When Derek joined FutureYou, he was given the help and support he needed to get himself back on track. FutureYou is delivered by Ingeus and partners on behalf of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and is co-financed by the European Social Fund. The programme was set up to help 18to 24-year-olds who are not currently in education, training or employment (NEET).
Derek says: “So far I’m loving this course, the opportunities I’ve had and the amount of support I’m getting is unreal, and I’m looking forward to what the course has to offer for me.”
Under the scheme, young people work with a mentor to help them find a job or move into training or education. Derek’s Issue no.9 / May 2022
Ingeus Newsletter
As well as giving him a new-found independence, the course has made Derek feel much more motivated and excited for the future. His Ingeus mentor is confident he will have no problem finding a job at the end of it.
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NCS launch changemaker video NCS (National Citizen Service) have created a brand-new promotional video on why young people should become a NCS changemaker. Becoming a changemaker is a brilliant way to do good in your community – they form part of a local group which meets regularly until the end of the year, designing and delivering social action projects on subjects that matter to them. Changemakers could be designing a strategy to tackle the climate crisis, creating awareness for positive mental health, raising funds for a charity, and so much more. You can watch the video on YouTube here. If you or anyone else you know might be interested in becoming an NCS changemaker, email contact@wearencs.com today.
Employability Day is a soaring success Employability Day, organised by ERSA, the Employment Related Services Association, took place on Friday 17th June to recognise and celebrate all of the great work that everyone involved in the sector does every day to make a positive difference to people’s lives.
Our dedicated teams and supply chains have worked with a wide range of local partners and employers to help tens of thousands of people back into work over the last 12 months. It was great to see all the collaborative working going on amongst our teams and partners. Across our employment centres, a range of events and activities were taking place including: • ‘Ask the Expert’ sessions with our Money Advice Team and Employer Engagement Teams. • Master sessions on how to complete DBS forms and CVs via the builder tool on our online careers centre, iWorks. • Mock interviews to help get ready for local jobs. • Sessions specifically tailored towards the over 50s. • Speed dating sessions with local employers. • Visits with local Jobcentre Plus offices. We thank each and every person who has contributed to helping someone on their journey towards employment.
Issue no.9 / May 2022
Ingeus Newsletter
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United Nations World Food Programme ND visits Berlin TH E W O RLD Spandau’s Refugee Integration Programme U
Martin Luther King Jr. famously said that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” The terrible events unfolding in Ukraine remind us that this remains as true today as ever. Zoom out a bit, however, and you can see that the refugee crisis in Ukraine is part of a much wider calamity. Over 100 million people are currently displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, human rights violation or climate change - the highest number on record. The country hosting the highest number of refugees may surprise you. According to the UN it is Turkey, with over four million people. The Ingeus team in Berlin Spandau recently welcomed a delegation from the UN World Programme together with Turkish government and civil society leaders seeking inspiration for a skills and employability pilot they have launched in eastern Turkey to help over 5,000 refugees into work. Reinhard Mader (Business Development Germany), Till Baeckmann (Branch Manager Spandau) and Anton Eckersley (International Relations) talked them through how Ingeus Germany has designed and delivered a flexible, voucherbased refugee integration programme that produces consistently high levels of customer satisfaction and strong results.
Anton said: “This challenge is not going to go away. Governments all over the world continue to struggle with how to help refugees and their families find work and become part of their local communities. Ingeus Germany’s programme shows that the building blocks are out there and that culturally sensitive measures delivered by passionate people really can make a difference”. Elsewhere, the UN and other global bodies are increasingly drawing on APM Group’s and Ingeus’ deep pool of global know-how to help shape effective skills and employability measures for marginalised groups in other parts of the world.
Out and about at the Modernising Criminal Justice Conference Ingeus was proud to sponsor and exhibit at this year’s Modernising Criminal Justice Conference 2022 at the QEIl Centre London. The event was a chance to network, hear from industry leading speakers, engage in debates, and share best practice across the criminal justice sector. Owen Peterson,
Issue no.9 / May 2022
Ingeus Newsletter
Head of Service for CF03, Beverley Caesar, Regional Manager for ETE, Pat Bannigan, Finance, Benefit and Debt Lead for CRS and Graham Glasgow, Business Manager for Justice attended the event. Read more about our justice services at ingeus.co.uk/services/justice.
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NCS step up and complete One million steps in walking challenge
Throughout June, our NCS (National Citizen Service) team have been keeping active and having some healthy competition with a step challenge. People were paired with someone in a different role to them, acting as a buddy to learn more about different areas of the programme and get to know new colleagues!
Issue no.9 / May 2022
Ingeus Newsletter
The team’s steps took them to some stunning scenery from across the country – including the Peak District, Torquay, Nottingham (pictured), Leicester and Staffordshire. Overall, the team completed over One million steps, which equates to some 435 miles – the same as walking from London to Edinburgh! Congratulations to Lucy Price and Lillian Hamlin who won a set of airpods each for the amount of steps walked and thanks to Dylan Hanson, Youth Engagement Advisor for the East Midlands, for organising!
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Getting to know you with... Jan Montgomery We asked Simon some of life’s essential this and that questions: Summer or Winter? Summer, I don’t like the cold, especially damp cold. Which is challenging as I live in Scotland. Chocolate or sweets? Sweets, although I prefer savoury. Night or morning? I love summer mornings. City or countryside? A bit of both – Edinburgh is the perfect compromise! Cats or dogs? Dogs – although I’ve never had one. Dressed up or casual? I love dressing up when the occasion is called for. Phone calls or emails? Phone call – it’s more personal. Books or films? Books, always books. Night out or night in? Night in – comfy and cosy with a good book.
This month we’re putting Jan Montgomery, Clinical Supervision Manager for Able Futures, our Access to Work Mental Health Support Service in the spotlight. Jan tells us a little more about her role: “I am fortunate enough to supervise and support 42 amazing, fully qualified Mental Health Practitioners. Every day, I learn from staff who share their knowledge and
Issue no.9 / May 2022
expertise with the team, and I get to share my knowledge and experience to receptive, engaging staff, supporting them to support our participants. It’s a win-win! I love to watch people grow so writing new content for both staff and participants is a passion of mine. I feel very fortunate to work with such an amazing team.”
Ingeus Newsletter
Holidays or home comforts? Nowadays, home comforts.
Find out more about Able Futures at able-futures.co.uk.
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