Case Study

What has spending time with horses, playing team games, or understanding how to cook healthy meals got to do with finding a job? You’d be surprised! 
 
While support to compile a CV and apply for work is an essential element of getting people back into employment, Ingeus takes a wider, holistic view. 
 
Participants on its employability programmes are also given support to improve their health and wellbeing, grow in confidence and learn essential life skills.  
 
Innovative partnerships with local groups, including charities and not-for-profit organisations, offer activities designed to boost self-esteem, as well as practical help to secure employment. This ranges from providing interview and work clothes to outdoor pursuits that boost mental health.  
 
Working with local partners who are experts in their field and know their communities has many benefits: 
 

 
In Greater Manchester, the Health, Independence and Progression (HIP) initiative, funded by the Community Investment Fund (CIF), offered a week-long series of life skills, health support, and work experiences designed to boost confidence and kickstart new interests for people struggling to find employment. 

 
Ingeus, working with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, masterminded the approach that has forged new partnerships with organisations. Valley Farm Outdoor Wellbeing and Learning offers participants the opportunity to spend time outdoors, with horses and learning bushcraft skills, giving them time to reflect on their lives and share experiences. At a recent session one participant was moved to speak in depth about her feelings following a family bereavement, prompting her to seek counselling. 
 

As with most of the partnerships the benefits go two ways. Valley Farm Director Emma Nock had previously concentrated on one-to-one sessions, but the success of the HIP experience has prompted her to offer further group events. 
 

Another partner, Let’s Get Active, taught playground games to participants training to be teaching assistants, so they could lead activities with pupils once they started work. 
 

For Director, Moinul Islam MBE, it was the first time he had worked with people on an employability programme. He said: “They came in timid and unsure of what to expect but by the second game everyone was pleasantly surprised. They really came out of themselves and the change in them was huge.”  
 

Participants played five 45-minute games, each requiring coordination, agility and communication. “It re-awakened their childhood spirit,” said Moinul.  “They became very competitive, even discussing tactics over lunch!”  
 

Moinul, who usually works with children, found the session so rewarding that it prompted him to set up free Saturday morning sessions for adults in the community. 
 

At the Foodie Kitchen Seema Ansari taught participants how to make simple, healthy and inexpensive meals and demonstrated the benefits of batch cooking. She said: “It was new territory for most of them, but as the day went on they were explaining things to each other and there was a real buzz as their confidence grew.” 
 

An opportunity to see that workplaces can be fun was one of the takeaways for participants attending a HIP day at the Manchester Community Bike Kitchen, said Director Andy Hilton: 

“We offered bike mechanics in the workshop, warehousing and retail roles, and everyone fixed a bike to keep. It gave people a chance to speak to others and to see that workplaces can be fun places. Many have since been back with their families.” 

 

It’s an example seen with other partners where participants’ experiences encourage them to come back voluntarily and continue to benefit. 

The effectiveness of the HIP programme is unarguable. Prior to the course, 21.5% per cent of participants struggled with low self-esteem. By the end of the course that figure had dropped by almost two thirds, to just 7.7%.