2021 ESF case study - NIACRO - Working Well 3
Working Well, run by the Northern Ireland Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (NIACRO), is the employment support programme for people with convictions, in the community and in prison. With nearly 50 years’ experience of offering services to people who have convictions, NIACRO understands that supporting people into employment or employment-related training significantly helps to reduce reoffending and builds positive futures.
This project is part funded through the Northern Ireland European Social Fund Programme 2014 - 2020 and the Department for the Economy.
Participant's story
This case study focuses on a participant who enrolled on the programme for support to get back into employment and was aware that his convictions may be a barrier to achieving his goal. During his engagement with Working Well he completed a CV and a Disclosure document to address his convictions with prospective employers.
Training and job searching
The participant was extremely keen to avail of any training on offer and was invited to attend a Zoom session focusing on roles within the construction field delivered by a construction employer. Following on from this he was given the opportunity of completing his CSR (Construction Skills Register) training and also completed high speed training courses in food hygiene, customer service skills and manual handling.
Assistance with job searching was another focus of support for this participant. His great engagement with the service also had the added bonus of counting towards his community service order hours that he had received, and he was able to complete the maximum of 20 per cent of his total hours equating to 36 hours through Working Well.
Full-time employment
He is now back in employment having secured a full-time job. Here are some quotes from the participant:
“Thank you so much for all your help. On a personal level you have been a great support to me in finding employment using my time positively.”
“The programme made a difference to me in informing me about relevant training and employment options. It was very encouraging to engage with the training I was offered.”