News

HIP hip hooray, for Greater Manchester employment prospects

5 Feb 2025

Over 80 representatives from local councils, charities and community partners gathered alongside employability professionals at the Friend’s Meeting House in Manchester on Friday 31st January. The event celebrated the achievements of the Health, Independence and Progression (HIP) pilot delivered by InWorkGM partnership, led by Ingeus as part of the Working Well: Work and Health Programme.

Funded by the Working Well Community Investment Fund, the HIP pilot ran in Bury, Manchester, Rochdale, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan from April to September 2024. Designed to enhance the life and employability skills of people who are long-term unemployed and living with a health condition or disability, HIP involved a week-long series of workshops and work experiences delivered by local businesses and community partners.

Participants from the Working Well: Work and Health Programme and Working Well: Pioneer programmes took part in activities including preparing and cooking a meal, gardening, DIY, health and fitness and mindfulness, as well as practical work experiences such as fork-lift truck driving. These experiences enabled participants to try new things in a safe space, alongside their peers, boosting their confidence whilst developing team building and communication skills.

Of the 67 volunteers who completed the course, 75% reported improved mental wellbeing, 56% experienced increased self-esteem and 33% have already secured employment. This achievement is attributed to the collaborative efforts of local charities, support organisations, learning establishments, and employers. Following the success of the initial pilot, Ingeus ran an enhanced HIP course in Oldham, training participants to become Teaching Assistants to help address local labour market shortages.

Morgan Frost, Programme Manager in the Inclusive Employment team at GMCA praised the pilot's success, stating, "The HIP programme has shown how community collaboration can transform lives and enhance employment prospects for people across Greater Manchester, and is a good example of how the family of Working Well services in GM continue to support and improve the lives of residents.”

Participants confidently spoke on stage at the event to explain how HIP had encouraged and inspired them.

Andrea, who is 52 and from Hyde has chronic fatigue syndrome and has been out of work for a year, following two family bereavements: 

“The HIP course kickstarted my life again,” she says. “It reawakened skills I had, like cooking with healthy ingredients, that I wasn’t using to look after myself, as well as learning new ones. I’ve been feeling so low, struggling with grief and had no confidence or routine. That one week got me interacting again and massively boosted my self-confidence. I’ve restarted cycling with help from one of the HIP partners and fixed a hole in my hall wall with the plastering skills I learnt…I don’t know where I would be without HIP, I didn’t have a clue where to turn without them.”   

Halal is dyslexic and struggled at school but says the HIP course helped him realise that can’t hold him back. Now living in Oldham and working as a part-time delivery driver, he’s completed Teaching Assistant training and hopes to use his own experiences to help children who may be struggling in the classroom. 

“HIP teaches you a lot. Everyone has different fears and anxieties, but it showed me that you can push through and change things. I met some great people who I’m still friends with and learnt new skills.”

Representatives from local community partners also shared how working with Ingeus has supported their organisations and empowered them to better serve community needs.

Andy Hilton is a Director at Manchester Community Bike Kitchen. He spoke at the event of the day they hosted for participants: “We offered a range of experiences, from bike mechanics in the workshop, to warehousing and retail roles, and everyone was able to help fix a bike for them to keep. It gave people chance to speak to others that they wouldn’t do ordinarily and to see that workplaces can be fun places.”

Moinul Islam, founder of Let’s Get Active ran a team sports day with participants to help develop their teamwork and communication skills. He said: “From the start of the day to the end of the day, the progression of participants was unbelievable.”

Since 2018, the Working Well: Work and Health Programme and Working Well: Pioneer programmes have provided specialist employment support to over 31,000 people living with a disability or long-term health to progress towards employment, with over 14,000 moving into employment so far. Ingeus is committed to working with community partners to explore new and innovative ways of supporting unemployed people from disadvantaged groups to achieve their work goals.

Nicola Wood, Head of Delivery for Ingeus, said “Forging relationships with community partners is key to maximising the impact of employability programmes in Greater Manchester. By working together, we are making a positive difference to the lives of many, fostering economic prosperity and community growth.”