GB Job Clubs

Congratulations to Rod Shepherd, Dan Farley and the amazing Barton Job Club team on their innovative and inspired Christmas community outreach project.

With everything from crafts to Christmas karaoke – Barton Christmas Wonderland  turned out to be  a very special evening for the local community. The main hall was packed with activity and fun for everyone – about 250 people of all ages came along over the course of the day.

Adults and children queuing for up to 20 mins to enter Santa’s Grotto were already asking if it would be held again next year!

This is certainly the kind of  initiative which captures people’s imagination, improves wellbeing and demonstrates the broader meaning of work and its value. By encouraging people to create gifts and conjuring up a magical wonderland experience, the Job Club communicated a real message of love which will have positive influence in the community.

Members of Micklefield Job Club got into the Christmas spirit by running a recruitment drive for a replacement Father Christmas.

Having devised a job spec for Santa, they developed interview questions to make sure they found the right man for the job.

Two very strong and well-qualified candidates applied to deliver the presents and polish Rudolph’s nose – Clive Knapman, Treasurer of High Wycombe Job of Work Clubs and Matt Knight, coordinator of the Micklefield club.

Interview success for Santa

In the second session, Job Club members interviewed the two applicants.

Matt was offered the position after demonstrating a superior “Ho Ho Ho” and showing excellent problem-solving skills in response to a scenario-based question. (Choking on a mince pie? A flat tyre on the sleigh?)

Reflecting on the task  Santa Matt said: “It was a fun exercise with serious points to be made. Club members told me that they learned a lot about improving their interview skills by seeing the whole process from the interviewer’s side of the table. Just as professional footballers improve their skills by practicing and playing friendly games; we can improve our job search skills by using role play to experiment with different approaches in a safe and supportive environment.”



Friday, 9th December, we welcomed Job Club leaders from Surrey and Kent at Kings Church offices in Oxted  for an informal             get-together.

Chris Neal presents laptop to Kevin and Dave

A great opportunity to  meet our new Executive Assistant Diana Gwynn, exchange ideas and generally catch up with news from the local area and GB Job Clubs. As ever, we were so impressed  and inspired by the way volunteer-led Job Clubs continually ignite hope and support Jobseekers in desperate circumstances.

Chris Neal, GB Job Clubs founder, presented a brand new laptop to Dave Clarke and Kevin Jennings – leaders of Strood Job Club – who won our competition earlier this year.

A very encouraging meeting and one which we hope to repeat in other areas next year.

We are so encouraged by the progress of two men who recently attended GB Job Clubs pre-release prison courses, both from HMP Guys Marsh.

Each of these men contacted us on their release, having realised that they needed help to stay outside those prison walls.

One man, a persistent offender for ten years, has enrolled at his local college – as well as learning basic numeracy skills, he’ll be training as a volunteer for next year’s Olympics. He’s really excited and so are we!

The second man, released after an eight-year prison term,  has a hard road to travel.With a place at a Christian rehab centre, he’ll have a chance to leave drugs behind and rebuild his life. He’s a bright man with huge potential and even qualified as a personal trainer while in prison. So we hope and pray that his future will be brighter, once free from the claws of addiction. Huge thanks to everyone at The Message Trust in Manchester for coordinating this crucial step forward for our friend.

a new BBC show – maybe opportunities for job club members here…

Audience Members:  “Up For Hire Live” BBC3

In 2011 a record one million young people are jobless. This exciting new series aims to give individuals a genuine opportunity to find the right employer and start a new career.

The ‘Up For Hire’ team is currently looking for suitable audience members for the show.  If you would like to be part of this exciting new show then please don’t hesitate in contacting me on the below email address.

The show will be hosted by Richard Bacon and Radio One reporter Tina Daheley. It will be a great chance to get some inside information show from seasoned professionals, entrepreneurs and celebrities.

The show will be filmed live over 4 nights on 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th of October at BBC Television Centre, Wood Lane, London W12 7RJ. Nearest Tubes are White City (Central Line) and Wood Lane (Hammersmith and City Line) which are located directly in front of the BBC.  The show will be live from 9pm on BBC3 and will finish at 10pm, though on the 20th it will be in 2 parts and will finish at 11pm. We advise you to be there from 7.30pm as allocation is a on a first come first served basis.

Please R.S.V.P to the below email address stating which night you would like to attend along with your contact details;

Dan.smith@loveproductions.co.uk

It’s always great to hear about  practical projects that Job Clubs organise.

In High Wycombe, Micklefield Job of Work Club  meet on Thursdays at Micklefield Library.

They  noticed that the neighbouring church was in serious need of a facelift; so Job Club leader Matt Knight decided that it would be a good idea to paint the front elevation of the building. This became a great opportunity for team building and raising the Job Club’s profile in the Community.

Micklefield Job Club’s Sheila Bruce says:

“The morning was a great success in so many ways – cooperation, developing leadership skills, joint venturing, fun, plus others too numerous to mention – and an end result which has brightened the church immeasurably.  The weather was perfect and Matt provided bacon butties for all!!”

So, what have your Job Club members done  to help out in your community? or what are you planning to do?  Let’s hear your stories.

It’s holiday time, so it was a huge pleasure for GB Job Clubs to spend a couple of hours at the seaside, attending the launch of Weymouth & Portland Job Club this afternoon. This great new resource for Jobseekers in the borough is facilitated by Weymouth College.

In this area of comparatively high unemployment, Julie Ellis and her team have done a superb job in getting W & P Job Club going, with great enthusiasm as well as an enviable knowledge base and much experience in employability and work-readiness.

These efforts have sparked great appreciation and support from Weymouth Chamber of Commerce, local employers,  councillors and churches. Jobcentre Plus and Dorset Probation Trust plus the education department of HMP YOI Portland were also represented during the afternoon.

The area is one of the 2012 Olympic sites, with the huge honour of hosting next year’s sailing Regatta. A great boost for the town and one which has already generated extra employment and volunteering opportunities. So I’m sure it won’t be too long before we’re reporting on Weymouth & Portland Job Club’s first placements.

From September, GB Job Clubs will be delivering Introduction to Job Clubs to prisoners as part of the pre-release program on Portland, so this was also an opportunity to meet and chat informally with potential partners and volunteers.

Wellhouse Community Trust annual Gala Day highlights the launch of a new Job Club in Easterhouse, Glasgow. (See our Directory page for details).

The Gala Day is a great opportunity for local people to get together and have fun with wall-to-wall entertainment, competitions and activities and something for everyone, including an X-Factor event and traditional Sports Day races, (with prizes) – so start balancing those eggs on spoons now!

Organiser Lynette McKechnie – with over 10 years of experience in employment and community work – is excited about launching the new support group for Jobseekers. the Gala will offer a great opportunity to introduce the service in a relaxed atmosphere.  Let’s hope the weather is kind….

GB Job Clubs wishes you all a great day out and much Jobseeking success in the months ahead.

GB Job Clubs sends sincere congratulations to the recently launched Winchester Job Club and its lead volunteers, Sarah Culverhouse and Peter Russell, who have done so much to get this new venture up and running. Great news for Jobseekers in this Hampshire city, full details on our Directory page and here’s an extract from their press release.

The Winnall Community Centre on Garbett Road is home to the newly established Winchester Job Club. The Club is run by volunteers and will be a friendly supportive place for jobseekers to find help.

The Job Club is run in the IT room and has access to several computers for job search and CV writing.  Sure Start are providing the room free of charge and Sparklers Childrens’ Centre leader, Joss King says “we are very pleased to support such a fantastic service right in the heart of Winnall to give the families the help we know they need to get back to work or find their first job.”

Winchester Job Club will run every Friday at the Winnall Community Centre, Garbett Road, Winnall from 12.30pm to 2.30pm excluding Bank Holidays.  Free to attend and open to all, contact Sarah at winchesterjobclub@gmail.com or via facebook/winchesterjobclub for more information.

February 2011 – Chris Neal and I led the first GB JOB CLUBS Introduction to Job Clubs session in HMP Guys Marsh; a Category C, resettlement prison.

Following initial suspicion and hostility from the men, we were encouraged that the atmosphere became positive and constructive (see February 2011 report, GB Job Clubs Directors in Prison ).

Six months on, GB JOB CLUBS Introduction to Job Clubs runs every week in both Guys Marsh and HMP Dorchester, a secure Category B establishment.

There may be more bars and stronger doors – but scratch the surface and you’ll find that these heavily scarred, often aggressive men respond to interest and attention like the rest of us.

Introduction to Job Clubs is a structured series of interactive exercises, based on Job Club-style discussion. We don’t promise anything – we just guide the conversation.

It’s simple, non-bureaucratic and, as with Job Clubs, we’re seeing results.

The men become a supportive group as they learn to respect each other’s achievements & aspirations.

Maybe asking for help isn’t weakness; but on the contrary, a sign of real strength.

Perhaps they’re not the only people in the world with problems and life needn’t be an endless treadmill of crime and punishment.

So possibly they’re not the total failures they thought they were.

Most importantly, they begin to focus on what they have to give; rather than what they can get.

So many forgotten or hidden success stories have come to light.

Men who boxed for Great Britain, composed raps, won European cycling championships, published articles in national magazines, trialed for West Ham, created allotments, raced stock cars, passed degrees, played in brass bands for Royalty.

And of course, we meet men who are “clean”. Free of drugs. Whether it’s been two weeks or ten years – there’s always spontaneous applause.

Examples of comments from our course participants, answering the question “what I have learned“:

“How to listen to people and work with other people in a group”

“How to aim for what I want and if I get stuck there’s someone for me to call”

“to be open and honest – it’s great to talk about my skills”

An ex-offender, recently released from Guys Marsh, keeps in regular contact with us.

He now has somewhere to live, is doing voluntary work and has a job lined up when his driver’s license arrives. A great example of support agencies working together. His dream is to work on oil rigs and he’s on his way!

we’re currently working on a scheme to improve employment prospects for ex-offenders. Launching 1st October – more news shortly.

For more information or to donate to this work, please contact  jane@gbjobclubs.org