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Rural Enterprise and the Future
Joint meeting of Norfolk Rural Community Council
and Norfolk Rural Forum
Tuesday 7 December 2010
Rural Enterprise and the Future
Working Neighbourhoods
Fund
What is the WNF?
• Central Government funded initiative• Focused on “deprived communities”• In this case, Great Yarmouth, primarily 3
central wards• Project “started” Autumn 2009 and ends
31st March 2011• Delivering “back to work” support • Aimed at unemployed and vulnerably
employed Great Yarmouth residents
Project overview NRCC
• NRCC lobbied for a rural element• Allowed up to 25% clients to come from outside the 3
urban wards • RCC WNF outreach worker started December 2009• One part time officer (17.5 hours per week)• Based at outreach office in Caister• Serving 21 rural parishes in Great Yarmouth Borough• Part of a 17 member WNF consortium• Identifying additional rural barriers • Liaising between rural clients and urban provision
So how is it going?Output Target to 31st March
2011Achieved to date
People engaged 175 364
Initial Assessments 75 37
People given careers advice
75 31
People into volunteering 25 0
People into training 15 12
People into jobs 15 5
Events supported 4 10
Outreach Surgeries 4 5
So what do I do?
• Hang about at bus stops……
So what do I do?
• Go to car boot sales……
So what do I do?
• Drive around the countryside……
So what do I do?
• Outreach surgeries in libraries……
How do I help people?
• CV review and drafting
• Confidence building
• Interview techniques
• Where to look for jobs
• Applications
• Referral to other WNF providers
Case Study 1
Young family based in Martham - Rural outreach has helped them to:
• Get extra training to help Mr Sanders start up IT business
• Pay for childcare so that Mrs Sanders can undertake an NVQ level 2 qualification
• Pay for driving lessons so that when she is qualified Mrs Sanders will be able to take up employment regardless of location
• Supported both of them with friendly but firm encouragement
Young rural family looking forward to a successful future
Case Study 2
• A parent and toddler group from Fleggburgh were looking to bring the group into the 21st century. It was important for the leader and another group member to be trained in first aid and food hygiene because they wished to provide healthy fruit snacks.
• The training has been provided through the Working Neighbourhoods Fund rural outreach officer who addressed their child care barriers to enable them to complete the training which would have other wise inhibited them.
• The training has given the leader the technical support she needed and has encouraged one other member to come forward and play a more active role within the community.
Case Study 3
• He was unemployed and not very positive about his future prospects.
• Through the WNF Outreach Officer and WNF partner organisations he was able to access advice and support on a range of issues such as housing, debt and employment.
Through one of the WNF partners, he is now undertaking a Football Association coaching qualification and is on the way to improving his life and career prospects. Feedback from the youth club leader said, “He came back feeling very positive and motivated.”Goal !
Case Study 4
• Single mum living in Caister• 2 school aged children• Doesn’t drive so reliant on public transport• Fast tracked an application for a job she had seen
and revised CV• Not successful in first application • Confidence building and new CV helped her to
become more pro-active• She found herself a new job through networking• She has now been working in her new job for 3
weeks and couldn’t be happier.
Lessons Learned
• Multiple access issues• Lack of transport• Lack of childcare• Services are mostly urban focused• Costs time and money to meet the needs of
rural unemployed• Rural training will be higher cost/lower numbers• Long term commitment• Slow but significant progress
Lessons Learned (contd.)
Links with other support providers who can also offer rural outreach effectively i.e. it is no use offering support services which are purely urban based, if the client cannot access them.
• Need good team support as the work can be demanding and sometimes demoralising
Conclusions
Rural residents can be difficult to engage (mostly because they are hard to find)
RCC rural outreach means that the WNF has reached people that would not have ever heard of the WNF
• Rural economic benefit will come from long term investment in jobs and services that are accessible to rural residents
Questions
Any questions?
