Under Business in the Community Ireland’s Business Action on Employment, we run Ready for Work, our employment programme that provides work experience, training and guidance to people with high barriers to employment.
The people we support through our partnership with businesses face a range of barriers such as experiences of homelessness, addiction, time in prison or mental ill health.
You can refer a client using our application form, which you can download in the section below under ‘Making a referral’, or call the programme coordinator on 01 8743814 for more information.
Applications by referral only – please call if you would like more information / advice on this.
Under Business Action on Employment we also run EPIC, our employment programme for immigrants which offers 6 weeks training, one to one guidance, opportunities for work experience and business supports. Further information on EPIC is here.
To date Ready for Work has impacted the lives of over 800 people. Close to 70% of those completing their work experience have since started working and almost all of the participants have said that the programme has increased their confidence and motivation for finding employment.
We are funded by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, and we work with government and community-voluntary services to provide pathways towards work.
If you are in contact with people who are affected by homelessness, mental health or other barriers and are keen to return to work, you can refer them to us by sending in a completed application form:
BITCI Employment Programmes Application Form
Use our leaflet to talk to your client about this opportunity:
Potential participants attend an informal interview to assess whether they meet our criteria, i.e. are they motivated and ready for a return to work. We match selected candidates to a suitable work experience placement and organise an introductory meeting with the company. Those who aren’t selected are referred to appropriate alternative services.
Our pre-employment training module has been created specifically for marginalised groups and focuses on communication, building confidence, managing change plus CV preparation and mock interviews.
Participants’ skills and interests are matched as far as possible to work placements being offered by participating businesses. Placements are:
Work placement opportunities include: retail (operations and sales), office/reception, stock room, warehouse, maintenance, catering and cleaning.
Current placement companies include: Marks & Spencer, Lidl, Boots, Momentum Support, Compass, Ricoh, Jurys Inn Hotels, Hilton hotels and the Dalata group.
Straight after the placement, participants come back together with the trainers, agree an action plan to go forward and receive certificates of completion.
After the work placement a Career Counsellor meets with participants regularly, providing guidance, motivation and practical support during the job search and onwards into employment or training. There is also access to business workshops, which provide extra support from business volunteers for effective job seeking.
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