It’s time to meet our partners!
Each month, we will be bringing you a new partner profile, giving you the opportunity to say hello to our team and find out about their involvement in Directions.
Say a big hello to Citizens Advice Halton – an independent charity providing free, confidential and independent advice to help people overcome their problems. Citizens Advice Halton are joining the Directions project to offer employment support and guidance.
Tell us about your organisation?
Each month, we will be bringing you a new partner profile, giving you the opportunity to say hello to our team and find out about their involvement in Directions.
Say a big hello to Citizens Advice Halton – an independent charity providing free, confidential and independent advice to help people overcome their problems. Citizens Advice Halton are joining the Directions project to offer employment support and guidance.
Tell us about your organisation?
Citizens Advice Halton is an independent charity. We provide free, confidential and independent advice to help people overcome their problems. We are a voice for our clients and consumers on the issues that matter to them.
We offer wide ranging help across subjects that include welfare benefits, the management of debt, problems with housing and rent, relationship issues, problems at work and consumer rights.
We also offer advocacy & representation services and help people to access grants and other support they need to solve their problems.
We operate out of offices in Widnes and Runcorn, and as well as advice to general members of the public, we provide targeted advice services for people facing multiple disadvantage including those with mental health issues, parents with young children, and people living in particular areas of need, such as Windmill Hill in Runcorn.
Why did you become involved in Directions?
There are two main reasons why we became involved in Directions:
Although our main area of work is giving advice to people who need it, for a number of years we’ve widened the services we provide to include financial capability training, advocacy and other support. We do this because we know that many of our clients have wider issues, such as mental health and wellbeing, in-work poverty, longer term family and childcare issues. Our wider services help us to provide a more holistic service to those who need it. Support on employability is an additional service that is vital for residents of Halton, as unemployment is higher here than the national average, and is significantly higher in some of the more disadvantaged wards in the borough.
As a Citizens Advice we rely on volunteers to help deliver our services and they are a very valuable and vital part of what we do. The training and support that volunteers do, and the opportunity to gain experience of supporting clients is a great way to learn new skills, improve confidence, gain up-to-date work experience and references. All of these things relate to employability, and we know from experience that volunteering for Citizens Advice is a great way of improving chances of getting back to work as we regularly have volunteers leaving for paid employment.
Tell us about the activities you will be running with Directions
Our Directions programme provides learning and support on employability, with online learning being developed to cover things like writing CVs; job searching; writing applications and cover letters; and preparing for interviews.
Support is provided on a 1-2-1 basis via telephone and virtual meetings during Covid-19 lockdown and the continuing social distancing, as our offices are still closed to the public. Support includes: review of CVs or support on developing a new CV; encouragement and support in job searching; writing job applications; as well as signposting to other support such as basic skills learning opportunities.
When it’s safe to do so, we will return to a more group based delivery of Directions learning programme, although the online learning we’re developing will now remain a part of the process, with face to face group work focused on improving participants understanding, sharing experiences, and helping to build confidence.
If you're interested in joining the Directions Project, you can email directions@citizensadvicehalton.org.uk
People can also visit our website https://haltoncab.org.uk where you can find news about Directions.
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/haltoncab
Twitter @haltoncab
About Directions:
Directions is a specifically designed and fully integrated programme of support which will improve the employability of over 2,000 local residents from Liverpool City Region who are currently not in work.
About European Social Fund:
Directions is receiving funding from the European Social Fund as part of the 2014-2020 European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme in England. The Department for Work and Pensions (and in London the intermediate body Greater London Authority) is the Managing Authority for the England European Social Fund programme. Established by the European Union, the European Social Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support skills development, employment and job creation, social inclusion and local community regenerations. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding
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