Fordingbridge Salvation Army hosts event to mark Employability Day

The Salvation Army in Fordingbridge is hosting two events to celebrate the achievements of local jobseekers this Employability Day.

The church and charity’s Employment Plus service helps people who have faced obstacles to employment such as lack of education, training or life skills, mental health problems, disability, or homelessness find and stay in work.

On Monday 3 July, people are invited to come to Fordingbridge Employment Plus at The Salvation Army in Roundhill between 1.30pm and 4pm for cake and coffee and to see how their free confidential service can help and support people. They will also be at Salisbury Job Centre in the morning between 9.30am and 12pm.

Cara Upham, Employment Development Coordinator at Fordingbridge Employment Plus, said: “The Salvation Army’s Employment Plus service offers tailored support to people who have really struggled to either find work or stay in work. There can be many complex reasons as to why that is, but we believe that helping people to develop their skills and self-belief is key to getting them back into the job market”.

“The work we do depends very much on the individual, but a lot of it is confidence building, CV writing, job applications, interview preparation or help accessing computers and courses to build their skills”.

“We can also help with benefit applications, money management and housing issues. It’s open to anyone who needs help”.

“Our help doesn’t stop when someone finds work, we continue to support them once they have that job. We were recently able to help a young man with very low confidence find a part-time job, but as he struggled a lot with communicating, this was affecting his role. I was able speak to his boss which improved the situation to the point where this young man is now thriving at work, has really improved his confidence and is looking to extend his hours. It really has transformed his life, which is fantastic for us to see”.

Across the UK and Ireland, The Salvation Army has helped 35,000 people with job support in the last 12 months. Of those, 10,000 have received a full and structured journey towards employment with almost half gaining employment.

Employability Day was created by the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA), of which The Salvation Army is a member, and aims to recognise the contribution of employment support organisations in helping jobseekers into sustainable work.

If you are interested in finding out more about Employment Plus please visit www.salvationarmy.org.uk/employment-plus