Employment Services

“People with mental health conditions remain among the most excluded within our society. And nowhere is this exclusion more evident than in the workplace.”

 

We are a “person-centred” service helping people with mental health issues secure and sustain employment. We do this by providing advice and guidance to our clients, employers and educational providers, ensuring effective in-work support and signposting to other opportunities.

Our goal is to support our clients in finding either paid or voluntary work or to help people begin and complete further education courses. We also help people who may be close to losing their job because of their condition.

 

“C&H MIND’s Employment service supports individual’s mental health recovery by assisting participation in meaningful, work-related activities, securing sustainable employment, skills training, further education and voluntary work opportunities. All activities are aimed at not only improving employability, but also promoting social inclusion, increasing confidence and attaining a healthier lifestyle. Tackling worklessness and creating supported pathways into work is a key local and national strategic priority.” - Commissioner

 

“The service identifies issues, difficulties and barriers experienced by users in accessing employment, with the associated development of strategies to overcome these and identify methods/approaches which “work”.” - Employer

“MIND is clear, reliable and pleasantly free of bureaucracy. Staff have a sound grasp of the practicalities of offering help to people with mental illness.” - Employer

“The strategic relevance is high. Their community work helps divert people away from psychiatric services; they have an informed grasp of the client group’s diverse needs.” - Funder

“The professionalism and commitment of workers is clear evidence of their commitment to the goals of helping clients to progress” – Service User

What we provide

 

Individually tailored programmes that include:

 

• Work retention services
• Job matching and brokerage services
• Interview training, support and advocacy
• Work preparation workshops
• Volunteering opportunities
• Vocational skills courses
• Job Clubs
• Help with application forms
• One to One support within paid employment
• Career Development

As part of our work with employers we provide free mental health awareness training and also negotiate work experience placements for our service users. We also work with employers to secure job interviews for our clients. Through this work we have also identified the need to closely match the skills of the potential work experience candidates / employees to the employer’s vacancies and how to provide appropriate ongoing support to the employer until they are confident about their ability to support these individuals.

 

We also provide in work consultancy to help people maintain their employment. Working closely with both employee and employer to provide healthy work plans and identify any issues within the workplace to reduce levels of sickness absence, maintain people’s mental health and influence working practices.

 

The education and employment services are intertwined, supporting each other in providing services that help people achieve their aspirations. We also link with other services within City and Hackney Mind and have an excellent knowledge of what else is “out there” to help people move on with their lives, so, even when people have finished their time with us, they have a clear understanding of their next step forward.

 

EMPLOYABILITY WORKSHOPS

The Employability Workshops that can be accessed by service users are as follows:

 

Your IDEAL job

Unlocking your potential

 

FINDING a job

(application forms, CV’s and other pre-interview techniques)

 

GETTING a job

(Top tips for interview success)

 

KEEPING that job

(skills to help you maintain your employment)

 

PROGRESSING in that job

(moving onward and upward in your career)