South Tyneside

A focused approach

Time, empathy and respect - three essential elements of effective employment support for people in their 50s and 60s. This is what Specialist Work Coach Cheryl Reah, believes make for successful delivery of the 50+ Routeway programme, delivered through the Employment and Skills Hub at South Tyneside Works, the employment and skills service operated by South Tyneside Council.  

Jen Wadsworth, Skills Course Leader at South Tyneside Council, has guided the development of this bespoke programme which targets older jobseekers who are furthest from the jobs market. The 50+ Routeway is a bespoke programme in three progressive stages, written for the 50+ cohort and deliberately age-bound. 

All participants are referred by South Shields Jobcentre Plus. Cheryl has a strong rapport with colleagues at the JCP having been seconded from there to South Tyneside Works, and this aids the smooth transition to the hub for participants.

It is important that potential participants understand what the programme has to offer so that they have buy-in from the start. They are offered an initial triage session with Cheryl who begins to understand what they are looking for. This is followed by a half-hour face-to-face appointment, again just focusing on building a relationship with each other.  The voluntary nature of the programme, and the approach to support engenders commitment.  

Because of the funding, support has to be skills driven. However, when participants visit the hub initially, they are not immediately enrolled on a course.  With this cohort, time is needed to build trust, and also to understand what will work best for the individual.  Care is taken to ensure that no-one is enrolled on a course that is irrelevant to their needs.

Cheryl believes it is important to lay the groundwork before suggesting courses; it isn’t a case of everyone doing the same thing,

Moreover, Cheryl will not recommend someone go on a course if they have too many challenges that they are dealing with; sorting the barriers first is the only effective way forward.

About the 50+ Routeway  

Once referred to the 50+ Routeway, participants attend the hub at South Tyneside Works. This is a modern building and a welcoming environment with employment support meetings taking place in one office space, and the skills training happening upstairs.

When participants are ready, they begin with the Red Routeway, a largely non-digital introductory course of seven sessions which focuses on changing people’s mindsets, addressing barriers, and creating a realistic six-month plan. These sessions are designed to effect behavioural change, developing confidence, teamwork and assertiveness.

This focus on peer support nurtures relationships with each other and the tutor. It builds trust and allows participants to share experiences, often coming to the realisation that they have gone through similar things. There are many instances where participants have found past social connections, but they also build new friendships that operate outside of the hub – with some meeting for coffee or lunch.  This goes a long way to addressing the challenge of social isolation, and the negativity that can develop from that.

The time spent developing ‘soft skills’ is important, as it enables individuals to move forward with a positive attitude and a sense of purpose, often with an increased feeling of self-worth.  It highlights the importance of building in time and space for people to connect, which then has an impact on how they progress.

One key feature of the programme is provision of laptops where needed, for each individual. This is seen as crucial in enabling people to overcome barriers to digital competency, and in taking ownership of their employment search. Prior to progressing to the Amber Routeway, all participants who need one, receive a laptop.

Clearly it is important to ensure that participants have the necessary skills to enable them to search for suitable employment opportunities and to submit applications online.

The Amber Routeway, which also involves seven sessions, addresses this. Participants explore a range of effective job searching skills, they develop tools for submitting job applications, and have access to support in exploring budgeting choices where needed.

Personal agency is an important factor in securing sustainable employment, and the gradual acquisition of skills develops autonomy. Important practical skills such as online safety, keyboard and computer basics, online research and effective emailing are all covered within the course.  

Cheryl, and Skills Tutor Jasmine Middleton, work closely in terms of applying digital learning to practical situations.

Progression to the Green Routeway sees participants tailoring CVs, creating cover letters and engaging in interview preparation. At this stage, some participants might feel sufficiently confident to enrol on specific training courses delivered by supply chain providers. These could be functional skills or vocational courses and are usually mixed-age.  But having developed confidence, some feel comfortable attending these courses.

Recently one participant was encouraged by Cheryl to attend a Level 1 English course; she initially felt underconfident and reticent to attend.  The course really stretched her, particularly having to give a presentation in front of the class. However, she achieved all of that and passed the course, motivating her to sign up for Level 2 the following term.

The original encouragement to attend, the nudge to move out of her comfort zone has had an amazing impact on her self-confidence. This shift from not wanting to do any course, to feeling confident going into a course with young adults, is huge.

Participants know that Cheryl wouldn’t direct them to a place where they wouldn’t feel able to cope.  And crucially, individuals know that they have the security of the 50+ group to return to once they have completed their training with external providers. It is a virtuous circle, they report their positive experience to others in the group, and the word-of-mouth recommendation encourages others to consider taking that step into further skills training.

Beyond the 50+ Routeway

Participants who have not secured employment by the end of the 50+ Routeway progress on to the Job Club. Again, this is a voluntary opportunity for the group to meet once per week, to continue their job search independently, but supported both by their peers and by the Work Coaches at the hub. The focus is on securing employment, and Cheryl has a network of employer engagement colleagues who support in identifying opportunities.  

For both Cheryl and Jen, the number of ‘job starts’ is not the only measure of success of the programme. Distance travelled, from entering the programme to attending the Job Club, is really significant. Most of the participants have multiple, complex needs and are the furthest from the jobs market when they start the 50+ Routeway.

It is clear that this person-first approach is fundamental to the success of the programme. Cheryl is adamant that respect is essential. Getting to know the person, what they have done in the past, their interests, their barriers and what they would like to do, all form part of that initial six-month plan.

She feels that honesty is important in building trust, and something as simple as not sitting formally behind a desk, which often has negative connotations for the participants, helps to remove barriers to engagement.

Cheryl herself has the confidence to have a laugh with her clients, and she encourages them to reciprocate. The professional boundary is there, but so is the compassion which is needed to support people who have such complex needs. She says it is important to listen, “because when they are telling you something, there’s something that they’re not. And it’s usually the ‘not’ that you need to fix, it just takes time.”  

For further details please contact: [email protected]