New skills?

To help people whose income or employment have been affected by the Coronavirus crisis, the eligibility criteria for Future Bright have been temporarily expanded.

Visit: http://www.westofengland-ca.gov.uk/future-bright/

Future Bright offers FREE career coaching, training and support to help you develop the skills and confidence you need to take your next step in your career.

When you join Future Bright, you’ll be matched with a dedicated career coach who will support you to create a personalised action plan. Your Future Bright journey is tailored to your individual needs and will fit around your existing commitments.

During the Coronavirus outbreak, our coaches continue to support residents by using telephone and online tools to stay in touch safely.

Our team of experienced career coaches can help you with:

• Advice and support: your dedicated coach will work with you to help you create an action plan showing where you want to be and how you can get there.
• Developing skills: we’ll help you identify and access support and training as well as looking at ways you can get more from your current experience.
• Personal budgets: we can help you pay for the training and equipment you need to reach your goals.

All conversations are confidential, and focus on what you want to achieve – your coach will help you take your next step. Participation is always free, and fits around your current commitments. To learn more, read our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

Who is it for?

To help people whose income or employment have been affected by the Coronavirus crisis, the eligibility criteria for Future Bright have been temporarily expanded.

The expanded Future Bright service can support people who are:

• Aged 19 and over
• Living in the West of England – that’s Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire
• In paid work and receiving benefits or tax credits – Universal Credit, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Job Seeker’s Allowance, Income Support, Employment Support Allowance, Housing Benefit, or Means-Tested Council tax Reduction
• People whose income or employment have been affected by the Coronavirus crisis, including:

• Those who have been made redundant, laid off or are at risk of redundancy, as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic,
• Employees whose hours have been significantly reduced, and who therefore have a lower income (e.g. zero hours, cut from full to part time)
• Self-employed workers, where their ability to earn has been severely impacted due to the nature of their business
• Furloughed employees, if their reduced income means they are eligible for Universal Credit.

Take your next step today!

Complete the short referral form or request an initial, informal chat with the Future Bright team by email or phone.

Sign up here or contact your local team at:

• South Gloucestershire: Email future.bright@southglos.gov.uk or call 01454 866008
• Bristol: Email futurebright@bristol.gov.uk or call 0117 9222250
• Bath & North East Somerset: Email futurebright@bathnes.gov.uk  or call 01225 395555

Future Bright is managed by the West of England Combined Authority and delivered locally by Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire councils.

FREE courses are available

Still at home? Want to be better at numbers or computers? FREE courses are available

There are courses at all levels. The government is funding this, with courses picked carefully to suit YOUR needs.

https://theskillstoolkit.campaign.gov.uk/?utm_source=South%20Gloucestershire%20Council%20resident%20update&utm_campaign=cc4abc7eba-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_05_05_01_09&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fb4bc0c59a-cc4abc7eba-406237961

Flying start for Yate dementia project

There has been an excellent public reaction to Yate Town Council's "Make  Yate a Dementia Friendly Town" initiative, which Lib Dem Councillors Tony Davis and Sue Walker have been organising. Since recruiting Dementia Community Worker Debbie Woolley, they have convinced Yate Leisure Centre to train their staff, and the project team itself will be training the security and caretaking staff at Yate Shopping Centre and many others. The sessions only last an hour, but people who attend have found them really valuable.

Steve Webb MP says: "I and all of my staff have already been trained. I would really recommend this - in just an hour it opens your eyes to do many small things that can make a massive difference to family, friends, neighbours, customers and people we encounter every day"

If you are involved in an organisation or group that would like this free training, please email Tony Davis on tony.davis@southglos.gov.uk. Please contact Tony as well if you are an individual who would like to attend a public session.

As Tony commented "This is a really good start for Yate as a Dementia Friendly Town. Let's keep the momentum going and get as many people involved as we can"

New year, new business? Free training session

Are you starting a new business, or thinking of working for yourself? Cool Ventures offer introductory sessions to help you understand what it means to work for yourself or start a new business. Starting with an enjoyable and interactive two hour session they introduce you to the basic concepts of running a business and help you decide whether it is right for you.

There's a FREE one-evening session at Emersons Green on Monday 2nd February. Check out this link for details and to book your place

Need some careers advice or help choosing a university course?

Need advice? Visit Ambitions 2012 at UWE and talk to an expert.

The event takes place over two days on 23 and 24 October at the University of the West of England Exhibition and Conference Centre. Featuring more than 100 local and regional organisations, including employers, universities, colleges, training providers and volunteering organisations, this is a great opportunity for all 13 to 19 year-olds to kick-start their future career.

More details available here

Want a job? Aged 16 to 18? This training could be just what you need!

KTS Training is starting an exciting, brand new 'I Just Want a Job' course at the Ridgewood centre in Yate.

It is aimed at young people aged between 16- 18 who are not currently in employment, training or education and will give them the opportunity to achieve a qualification and enhance their employability skills.

The eight week intensive programme will cover employability skills including mock interviews, CV work and help and expertise in job applications.

The full range of subjects the learners will study on the programme includes first aid, customer service skills, target setting, CV and Cover letter work, numeracy skills at work, mock interviews and techniques, work standards, rights and responsibilities in the work place and team work.

The portfolio driven work that learners will complete will result in an Employability qualification at Level 1 and learners will be matched to a 2 week work placement at the end of their programme and will be provided with interview clothes completely free of charge.

Places are limited to 10 initially and they are recruiting now so contact 07722994238 or email Nicola.lace@ktsgroup.co.uk