Back in April we introduced the largest Kickstart programme in the FareShare Network.
This brand new initiative gave 8 people seeking employment a comprehensive insight into working life, along with the opportunity to complete valuable courses and gain ITSSAR-accredited forklift permits.
As the first cohort now come to the end of their time at FareShare Yorkshire, we are delighted to announce that 3 have already moved into employment as a direct result.
Operating in our Barnsley and Leeds centres, the programme now welcomes its second cohort of people seeking work to give them a ‘kick start’ along the pathway to work.
Led by our Head of Volunteering & Employability Mark Hague, the programme not only helps people become work ready via qualifications but gives them a rich experience in a busy team across all areas of our Gold Standard warehouses. This comprises goods-in, goods storage, goods-out, customer service, problem solving, health and safety, leadership and machinery operation.
The cohorts we induct also learn in our FullCrumb Kitchen to complete a 6-week Ministry of Food course. This helps develop confidence, independence and food resilience.
Chris Clyburn, Project Manager of the FullCrumb Kitchen, also delivered accredited Food & Hygiene Level 2 courses for the learners.
Keeley, who was one of our first Kickstart employees at Barnsley, has completed the programme and started her new full-time role at a local hospital.
Connor, who completed his programme last week, says;
“I really enjoyed working at FareShare Yorkshire. I enjoy picking and packing, so I hope to go into a job that contains that!”
The programme not only provides core hands-on experience, but also helps individuals with confidence boosting skills, personal hygiene, health & safety, timekeeping and teamworking.
Over the next few weeks, we will be welcoming a fresh set of Kickstart employees into our centres. Offering this opportunity alongside our employability provisions has been so beneficial to those taking part and the wider team, especially as we continue to recover from the Covid-19 crisis.
Being able to provide on-the-job training at FareShare Yorkshire is very rewarding for the whole charity and we hope to continue offering this variety of employability opportunities throughout 2022.
