Issue No.5 / January 2022
Ingeus gives new opportunities to 18-24 year olds in Greater Manchester
What’s inside...
Page 2 Beating the January blues
Page 4 Ingeus’ National Citizen Service in Nottingham recognised nationally
We kick off the new year with the launch of a new mentoring and engagement programme to support 18-24 year olds in Greater Manchester. ‘FutureYou’ focuses on 18–24-year-olds who are not currently in education, training or employment (NEET). It forms part of Greater Manchester’s NEET and Youth Employment Programme and is funded by the European Social Fund. We will provide personalised practical and wellbeing support to 3,000 young people to help them progress into work, training or education, with dedicated mentors to help them every step of the way. Issue no.5 / January 2022
Support ranges from employability skills and job searching such as CV writing, to access to training and qualifications, and health and wellbeing advice. Young people will be able to gain work experience, with access to local job vacancies, with opportunities to take part in local community projects to build their skills. Rob Houlston, Programme Director for Ingeus Youth Services, said: “We’re very excited to be launching FutureYou in Greater Manchester. This programme will give young people new chances to get on in work and life, with dedicated support to help them navigate and get ready for the career opportunities available to them. In turn, FutureYou will help benefit local employers by giving them access to new talent for their vacancies. We are working with a great network of local partners and look forward to delivering FutureYou with them”.
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Councillor Bev Craig, lead member for Education Skills, Work, Apprenticeships and Digital in Greater Manchester said: “We know that the pandemic has had a significant impact on our young people. Those in education had their learning disrupted and those in work, particularly across the retail and hospitality sector, have been affected by furlough or job losses. We want them to know that they haven’t been forgotten. We hope that this programme boosts confidence and encourages the city-region’s young people to reach their ambitions.” FutureYou will be delivered from 11 centres across Greater Manchester, with support offered online, face to face and by telephone. Young people will also get access to Ingeus’ online careers portal giving 24/7 access to thousands of courses, resources and guides, as well as a wealth of training and skills opportunities from our partners. 1
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Kevin loses more than 3 stone after joining diabetes prevention programme Kevin Johnson, aged 66, from Cheshire, was referred onto the National Diabetes Prevention Programme following an annual wellbeing check, in November 2019, which showed he had raised levels of cholesterol and blood pressure. After further blood testing, it confirmed Kevin was pre-diabetic. He initially took the diagnosis lightly and was under the impression that Type 2 diabetes was inevitable and was not aware that it might be reversible. Kevin joined the National Diabetes Programme in August 2020 and was ready to improve his health.
At the start of programme, he had a prediabetic HbA1c (blood sugar) level of 43. He managed to decrease this to 41 within six weeks of joining, which reduced even further to 35 by November 2021. He has also lost 10 inches and has set himself a target to lower his Body Mass Index from obese to normal. Amazingly he has achieved a weight loss of 3 ½ stone which he continues to maintain and manage himself. Over the course of 11 months, Kevin attended the programme online with Ingeus educators Suzy and Helen. Kevin says: “The course draws together all strands of health – diet, exercise, mindset, Type 2 diabetes and heart health. Calorie counting has been the biggest eye opener, I used a free app to help keep me on track. My hunger levels and my perception of hunger have totally adjusted.” Kevin found educators to be engaging and approachable. “I looked forward to the online sessions. The continuity
was good, and the group dynamic meant people were more open to join in the discussions.” Keen photographer Kevin now feels very strongly that his future health is his responsibility, and it is up to him alone to manage that. His advice to those considering doing the programme is “just do it, do it well and be proud of your progress. You only get out of the course what you put into it. Think about all of the obvious benefits you will gain.”
Beating the January blues The Ingeus team opted for Brew Monday over Blue Monday this January, connecting with colleagues, friends and family over a virtual cuppa. Brew Monday is organised by the Samaritans to encourage us all to take ten minutes to catch up with those we care about. Our Able Futures team, who provide the Access to Work Mental Health Support Service, also ran a special webinar to help more people focus on their mental health as we start the new year. One attendee from London NHS Trust said: “Thank you for the webinar today. I found it very informative and look forward to discussing it with my organisation.” Read more about the free Able Futures service here.
Issue no.5 / January 2022
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Beating the January blues
Julie Graham is elected to ERSA Board of Directors
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Able Futures helps Toni turn her life around for the better Care worker, Toni Lawrence, 25, was unhappy in her job and her anxiety was spiralling out of control. Now, thanks to Able Futures, Toni has all the tools she needs to manage her anxiety – and has also set foot on an exciting new career path. You can view Toni’s vlog here where she talks about how Able Futures have helped her feel much happier and more positive about her future. Read more about the free Able Futures service here.
Issue no.5 / January 2022
Julie Graham, CEO of Ingeus UK Employment services, has been elected to the ERSA Board of Directors. ERSA (Employment Related Services Association) gives a voice to the employment support sector and is the national membership body campaigning for high-quality services for the UK’s jobseekers and low earners, ensuring that they can sustain long-term, well-paid employment.
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Julie commented: “I’m delighted to have been elected to the ERSA Board of Directors and would like to congratulate my fellow newly elected colleagues. As we navigate ongoing challenges, it’s even more important to collaborate widely and influence the agenda. It is important that our sector continues to add value through its expertise, providing vital support to people across the UK looking to realise their potential. I look forward to working closely with the Board and the sector to enable better lives and improve the employability of the nation’s job seekers.” Congratulations to all our colleagues newly elected!
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Lisa Jasper highlights that real gems that can be discovered beneath someone’s CV Ingeus works daily with people who sometimes struggle to shine on paper, but CVs only ever tell half a story. When you look past someone’s CV, and delve into their transferable skills, personality, work and life experiences,
Ingeus’ National Citizen Service in Nottingham recognised nationally The Nottingham Autumn National Citizen Service (NCS) programme has been named one of the top 5 programmes nationally. Using Net Promoter Scores and evaluations, the National Citizen
Issue no.5 / January 2022
Service Trust named the programme best of the week and one of the top 5 best nationally, beating hundreds of other programmes. Steve Binns, NCS Curriculum and Delivery Manager said: “We are really proud of our team for getting this fantastic feedback, it’s an excellent achievement and testament to everyone’s hard work. This is an incredible start to the year and with Summer 2022 events kicking off at schools around the country, we are already seeing thousands of young people across East Midlands and
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you’ll likely unearth some fantastic qualities which they can bring to the table. In January’s edition of theHRDIRECTOR magazine, Ingeus’ Transformation Director, Lisa Jasper shares her own very personal career story and promotes the benefits of employers exploring ‘What lies beneath’. You can read Lisa’s insightful article here.
South East sign up for this summer’s programme.” 15-17 year olds can sign up to take part in National Citizen Service here.
“The programme was really fun and enjoyable I loved being able to make new friends.” “The programme was very inclusive to everyone’s ideas and needs.” “NCS was one of the best experiences ever.”
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Ingeus shortlisted for GM Good Employment Awards
Ingeus has been shortlisted for the Best Diversity and Inclusion category in the Greater Manchester Good Employment Awards, hosted by the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter.
The awards recognise excellent employment practice amongst Greater Manchester employers. Ingeus was recognised for our commitment to promoting diversity & inclusion through our internal communications; our significant work to reduce our overall gender pay gap; and our delivery of numerous workshops and activities to promote awareness of key issues, such as our national Disability Awareness Day in November, our ‘Let’s talk about Menopause’ webinars, and our Mind and Back care support sessions. Juliet Mortiss, People & Culture Director, said: “This is a fantastic recognition of all the hard work from multiple teams across the business that create such an active and wide-ranging diversity & inclusion programme within our business – including Employee Engagement, Health Professionals,
Getting to know you with... Sharon Rumes
Sharon’s background is in fitness, where she loved the interaction between herself and other people as a Personal Trainer. “I loved teaching the fitness classes and helping people achieve their
Issue no.5 / January 2022
Communications, and numerous colleagues who give their time to host and speak at our events. Our business is all about people and our commitment to giving people, from all backgrounds and circumstances, a great place to work is what drives our business.” Jayne Garner, Head of Integration for Greater Manchester, commented: “We’re so proud to have been recognised as one of three companies in Greater Manchester for best Diversity & Inclusion. We are committed to a diverse workforce to support the range of participants who have different backgrounds, experiences and cultures, and our Diversity and Inclusion committee work has been crucial in raising awareness. At Ingeus, we enable better lives and part of this is making our workplaces fairer, happier and more inclusive.”
We asked Sharon life’s essential ‘this or that’ questions: Summer or winter? Summer always, I hate the cold.
fitness goals through personal training. As I love talking to and meeting new people, when an opportunity arose for the job of a Support Worker for the CFO4 Activity Hub in Middlesbrough, I jumped at the chance to apply for it.
This month we’re putting Sharon Rumes, Support Worker in our Justice division, in the spotlight.
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“Luckily, I got the job, and I can honestly say it’s the best thing I have ever done. I love the fact that I’m the first person that the participant interacts with, and I help them to engage in the safe environment of the Activity Hub. Watching each participant’s journey with our ongoing support is so rewarding and we have so many success stories. I have only been working here for 6 months, but I have loved every minute of it.”
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Chocolate or sweets? Sweets. Haribo Golden Bears, always! City or countryside? Both. I love city life but love going for walks in the countryside. Cats or dogs? Used to be dogs, but I got a cat off my brother called Milo and he is the best cat ever. Dress up or casual? Dress up! I’m always in casual at work so love to get dressed up for a day or night drinking session with the girls Phone calls or emails? Phone calls – I like to hear the person’s voice and its more personal. Book or films? Books. I love my kindle. Holidays or home comforts? Holiday with sunshine, sangria and my kindle!
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