Ross Brown, Contract Manager at Opportunity Sheffield, welcomed guests to the Autumn Teacake Club Meeting, hosted by the Canon Medical Arena on Friday 11 October 2024.
Speakers
Park Community Arena
Marko Backovic (Head of Operations) – Sheffield Sharks
Canon Medical Arena was built a year ago, and houses the Sheffield Sharks, and parent club, Sheffield Hatters (oldest women’s club). The courts can be turned into an arena with high tech sound system and panelling to host lots of different events. There is also a fully diagnostic medical centre within. This is unique for a sports club – only other place to have that is the Manchester United Club.
Marko explained that the arena has pride in its local community and want to leave the city in better place than it was in before. Their key partners are Canon Medical and B Braun Medical. It runs community programmes with partners, working with primary children about health. Programmes with local schools on dangers of smoking and vaping and online safety.
From this, Respect 2 was born, targeting those who are on the cusp of gang involvement. Those students attend the arena and first team players work with them to focus on things like decision making, self-control, anger management.
The new Canon Youth Brand Ambassador programme involves two students working with Canon staff and learning what it’s like to work for a large company. They expand their horizons and hopefully move into an apprenticeship with Canon.
The arena has an alternative provision classroom, about working on basic skills in a practical way. While the Sharks Education Academy is about getting students into further education. Students that sign up, work with accredited teachers, and are sponsored by a company (e.g. B Braun) which could result in employment.
For more information visit the Canon Medical Arena website.
Crimestoppers
Gemma Gibbs (Regional Manager) – Fearless
Crimestoppers is an independent charity, that has been going for around 30 years. It ensures that everyone can report a crime with 100% anonymity. It is available to everyone, via phone or online 24/7 and in any language.
The main reason people contact Crimestoppers rather than the police is fear. The team don’t judge, just listens and passes on the information. It will not result in police contact, going to court or having to write witness statements. Drink and drug driving is the most reported crime.
There is one contact centre, with a small head office. Gemma is the only one who works across the whole of Yorkshire & Humber, but has volunteers who support her.
Crimestoppers has campaigns and appeals to get across messages. The current one is about fraud and student financial exploitation.
They advertise the Most Wanted criminals in the UK on their website. Crimestoppers usually get 2,000 contacts a day, which went up to 3,000 a day during the riots in the summer. It offers rewards but people rarely take them up. Sometimes donors come forward to volunteer rewards through Crimestoppers.
Committees are volunteers, some interested in fundraising and others who want to promote a service, attend community meetings, create new resources and identify a local issue that needs attention.
The charity also has community ambassadors and partnerships with other organisations.
Fearless is a programme dedicated to young people under 18. Its workers are mostly around Scotland, Wales and London. It empowers young people to speak up about crime, but also prevents them from getting involved in the first place.
The programme teaches what constitutes crime, as well as working with those who show signs of involvement in criminal activity and those at risk.
It looks at what barriers young people have when it comes to reporting crimes. There is a big focus on the anonymity promise – this is really important to young people as they often feel like they don’t have a voice/their voice isn’t as important as an adult voice.
The best way to connect with young people is through social media campaigns. The team do lots of work around debunking the idea that reporting is ‘snitching’.
To find out more, email: gemma.gibbs@Crimestoppers-uk.org or visit the Crimestoppers website.
National Numeracy
Rebecca Burrows (Relationship Manager) – National Numeracy
National Numeracy is a charity based in Brighton, with an arm in Yorkshire. It was set up off the back of Skills for Life, a service that found numeracy in the UK to be poor. It is Funded by South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) as part of Multiply. Experian is one of their partners.
Half of working age adults in the UK have primary school level numeracy skills. People tend to have lots of hidden anxiety about maths. They lack the confidence to use those skills to get into work, or just at home managing bills, budgets and supporting their children.
South Yorkshire is in the lowest 20 percentile for numeracy. The essentials of numeracy are: numbers, operations and calculations, shapes, space, measure and handling information. There is a free part of website to work on everyday maths skills.
National Numeracy also work on people’s mindset around numeracy. There is a cultural issue in UK where people who are good at maths are seen as geeks or there is a perception that girls can’t do maths.
The team is trying to encourage people to train as numeracy champions to help other people in their workplace. This is funded by SYMCA so there is no cost. They don’t need to teach maths – its about being a supportive person that someone can come to, who talks positively about maths and numbers, and signposts people to things that might support them.
Anyone who works with other people can become a numeracy champion. It is a fully funded CPD opportunity. Champions who have trained, have had low confidence themselves, and therefore make great champions because they share the point of view of those they are supporting.
They can be delivered over Zoom, over two 2-hour sessions, that are interactive and with real-life people. A Relationship Manager keeps in touch with you for support. Sign up dates for Numeracy Champions are in the PowerPoint download above.
New dates are released each month. To find out more, visit the National Numeracy website.
The Suit Works
Faye Mellors (CEO) – The Suit Works
The Suit Works offers free smart wear for people attending interviews or new job roles. Lack of smart clothing should not be a barrier to gaining employment. Its a simple thing that can be over looked.
Customers get a completely free outfit, when referred (referral only). The client attends for a styling session with the team, to offer an outfit that reflects their personality and which boosts their confidence. In addition, they can also support with basic interview techniques and help clients prepare.
They have started some outreach in the city to anyone working with groups. The Suit Works can come to your organisation to speak about self-presentation and building confidence.
All clothing is donated, sometimes by retailers, but more often by individuals. They need to be of high quality and can be dropped off at The Suit Works HQ on Carver Street.
All the details can be found on The Suit Works website.
South Yorkshire Apprenticeship Hub
Vicki Eadson (Employer Engagement Coordinator) – South Yorkshire Apprenticeship Hub
South Yorkshire Apprenticeship Hub has been running since December 2023. It was set up by South Yorkshire Colleges Partnership Network and SYMCA. It’s main goal is to offer impartial advice and guidance, make and support connections and to offer follow up support.
It is a small team that engages with employers, some of which have previously had apprentices, but some are new to it. The team also meet with individuals and work closely with Local Authorities and Jobcentre Plus. Employers send referrals by phone, website, LinkedIn. All advice is impartial.
The hub supports employers by meeting in anyway that suits them. The hub team supports with a skills analysis for the role the employer is looking to fill, as well as advice on training and development.
Hub can identify the standard for the job and apprentice. The employer makes the decision regrading the provider, while the Hub can support with advice on funding, the set up and the responsibilities expected.
There are nearly 700 standards/job roles in 15 occupational roles, from Level 2 (equivalent to 5 GCSEs) to degree level. It increases opportunities for those currently in employment to do an apprenticeship.
The hub has a vacancies page for apprenticeships. Individuals can upload their CV to the website, which may get passed onto employers looking for apprentices.
Visit the South Yorkshire Apprenticeship Hub website for advice and resources for employers.
Likewise
Joanna Yardley (Senior Employment Specialist) & Dan Bennett (Recovery Navigator) – Likewise
Likewise support anyone with substance misuse concerns or problems with heroin, pharmaceutical opiates, cannabis, cocaine and others. There is also support for lower-level drug or alcohol use, including support for families. It has just started a Stop Smoking campaign.
The team sits with an individual and works out a personal recovery plan. Some people want to be fully abstinent, while others want to get it under control and not be abstinent forever. It can be tailored to whatever people want.
Jo’s team can help anyone in recovery who need support getting back into the workplace. They work with employers to explain the situation of the individual and to see what they can do to generate jobs and support their client base. So far they have helped 125 people back into work. Likewise accept referrals from anybody at any stage of recovery/treatment.
Dan supports people who are dependent on alcohol and drugs. He has alcohol dependent for 30 years from the age of 17, developing into heroin use, so approaches things from a perspective of lived experience. He believes in offering hope through transparency. He now has a caseload of over 100 people. Sheffield has an abundance of recovery support groups and a good community.
To find out more, visit the Likewise website.
IN BRIEF
Attendees had a chance to briefly promote services they work for and/or projects they are working on.
Speakers in this quarter’s In Brief segment included:
CJ from CodeYourFuture (CYF) – UK-based non-profit organisation that trains some of the most deprived members of society to gain the tech skills they need to succeed. CYF runs a digital literacy programme to help digital inclusion and various vocational tech skills programmes to help people start tech careers. Visit the CodeYourFuture website.
Tim Jeffries from The Growth Company – The new initiative from the Department for Housing, Communities & Local Government and support for Hong Kong nationals. Anyone with a Hong Kong passport can access support. Visit The Growth Company website.
Ahmed Mohamed from Infinite Skills – Careers and Networking Day: industry professionals providing advice and guidance to individuals from the local community. Tuesday 22 October, 4pm-7pm. Full event details here. More info about Infinite Skills on their website.
Khalid Abdillahi from Citizens Advice – Positive referral outcomes. Referral from SOAR, support lead to client being debt free moving forward. Any referrals, encourage to double check that the client is following up with CAB. Visit the Citizens Advice website.
Adam Siu from Down2U – Physiotherapy/Health and Wellbeing. Works with individuals who have a chronic pain barrier to work. Encourages referrals. Visit the Down2U website.
Phillipa Orridge from Jobcentre Plus – Weekly Buzz meetings on Teams to talk about JCP events and opportunities. Anyone wanting to be added to the list, let her know at: philippa.orridge@dwp.gov.uk
Opportunity Sheffield would like to thank Canon Medical Arena for hosting our Autumn 2024 meeting at their venue.
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