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Information for job seekers

Information on employment support providers in Richmond upon Thames.

Richmond Work Match is our job brokerage service and supports residents of Richmond upon Thames to benefit from the creation of jobs across the borough and South West London.

We have also published resources for supported employment for people with a disability.

Better Working Futures - Work and health programme

Supports unemployed adults to start and sustain a job.

About the service

Better Working Futures gives people the support they need to start working, helping them create a plan of action that suits their personal needs and work ambitions. They provide holistic and targeted support to people with health conditions and those who are long-term unemployed.

Services include:

  • One-to-one expert advisor guidance
  • Access to exclusive job vacancies
  • High quality skills training
  • CV help and Interview preparation
  • Health and Wellbeing Support
  • Financial support with travel, childcare, and work clothes
  • Continuing in-work support and guidance

Eligibility

Residents of Richmond upon Thames are eligible for the programme.

Participants are eligible if they fall into one of the following categories:

  • People with a disability or health condition
  • Early Access Disadvantaged Groups: carers; ex-carers; homeless; former armed forces or member of armed forces Reserves; partner of current/former armed forces personnel; person with a drug/alcohol dependency; care leavers; refugees; young people in gangs; ex-offenders; and victims of domestic violence
  • People who have been unemployed for 24 months or longer

Refer someone

You can ask Jobcentre Plus to refer someone to Better Working Futures for employment support.

Contact

Contact Cassandra Kelly for further information:

Richmond and Hillcroft Adult Community College (RHACC)

Richmond and Hillcroft Adult Community College (RHACC) is an institute of adult learning (IAL) and provides training and development opportunities to adults aged 19 and above.

About the service

RHACC aims to empower adults and communities through education, skills and enterprise by:

  • Providing training and progression to work, wellbeing and empowerment for adults of all ages, abilities and backgrounds through a curriculum ranging from Beginners to Level 5
  • Closing achievement gaps between the most advantaged and disadvantaged adults
  • Outstanding standards in teaching and learning
  • Using enhanced links with stakeholders and partners to disseminate best practice, enrich learning and support the highest levels of learner achievement

With two campuses, including a dedicated Business School, women-only education, specialist co-working and office space, meeting rooms, classrooms, workshops and kitchens, RHACC is a hive of activity during the day, evenings and weekends.

Eligibility

Adults aged 19 and above.

Contact

Richmond Mencap Job Club

Richmond Mencap Job Club is delivered in partnership with The Hive and Choice Support, and is supported with some funding from Richmond Council.

About the service

The Job Club is a 12-week course, running three times a year for up to 10 people.

The club can help you:

  • Look for a job
  • Learn skills
  • Get advice
  • Work as a team/group
  • Roleplay various job groups
  • Prepare work profiles (CV)
  • Find a pathway to employment
  • Meet people and socialise

The Job Club will help you to write a CV which tells employers about your education and experience. It will help you think about what sort of work or volunteering you may be interested in and what skills you might need to be able to do this.

Eligibility

People with learning disabilities, social communication conditions, ADHD and other additional needs who live in the borough of Richmond upon Thames.

Contact

Richmond Work Match

Richmond Work Match offers employment support, advice, guidance and training for residents of Richmond upon Thames.

About the service

Work Match liaises with local businesses to identify their recruitment needs and help them fill vacancies with local talent.

Business Engagement and Employment Officers provide a vital link between businesses seeking staff and residents looking for employment. This includes helping residents with CVs, applications and finding vacancies, and assisting businesses with their recruitment processes.

Work Match works with residents to find jobs in the borough, whether currently employed, changing a job role or looking for work.

They also link residents of Richmond upon Thames to training opportunities and can support with employment advice, job coaching and support with applications.

Eligibility

Richmond Work Match is open to residents of the borough who are aged over 16 and seeking to move into employment, whether unemployed, or currently in a job and interested in changing roles.

Richmond Work Match has partner teams in Wandsworth and Kingston so Richmond residents can also access Work Match vacancies from those boroughs.

Contact

You can register for Work Match online.

You will need to provide your name, contact information and details of what help you would like from Work Match. You will also need to provide evidence that you live in Richmond and have the right to work.

Telephone: 020 8871 5191

Room for Work

Based in Richmond, Room for Work is a prize-winning charity delivering a gold standard course for unemployed adults.

About the service

The programme is a free employability skills course, presented in 12 lessons, either online or in a live classroom, designed to help older skilled workers, those with experience ranging from administrative to managerial and professional. 

Room for Work will equip you with current employability skills that enable your return to work. Our programme provides an active, participative learning experience through a series of presentations and workshops conducted by professionals with expertise in their respective fields. Tailored, one-to-one mentoring is provided for every course participant in one-hour meetings with the Course Leader.

There is also a social element. You will be with people who are in a similar situation as yourself, gaining confidence by knowing you are not alone in your situation, finding guidance and encouragement at Room for Work.

Several courses are available each term.

Eligibility

Room for Work can help if you are over 40 years old, have had a recent redundancy, are long-term unemployed (over one year) or you are returning to work after a career break as a parent or carer. It also serves retirees who don't have a critical path forward and wish to continue working.

Contact

Follow Room for Work:

SHiFT Intervention

SHiFT works with children and young people who are caught in the destructive cycle of crime and associated behaviours.

Available services

SHiFT's approach is centred around the relationship between each child and their SHiFT Guide. The Guides work intensively with a maximum of five children over an 18-month period, doing whatever it takes to support and enable them to reach their potential.

Contact

Social Enterprise Richmond

A long-established social enterprise partnership providing high level consultancy, information and guidance to social enterprises and other social organisations in Richmond and neighbouring boroughs. Its founder partners have considerable experience across the social, private and public sectors, including the setting up and leadership of social enterprises, the preparation of business plans and information on sources of finance. They combine these skills with a network of contacts at local level.

Available services

Social Enterprise Richmond can help by:

  • Providing information on start-up funding and other forms of finance
  • Providing specialised consultancy advice and support. The initial meeting is free, thereafter a reduced rate consultancy fee may apply
  • Promoting the benefits of social enterprise to voluntary and community organisations, private sector companies and statutory bodies
  • Bringing in expertise from others where relevant and useful

Eligibility

Services are available to social enterprises and other social organisations in Richmond and neighbouring boroughs.

Contact

Email: socialenterpriserichmond2020@gmail.com

SPEAR London

SPEAR is a homelessness charity offering support to rough sleepers and those experiencing homelessness in the London boroughs of Richmond, Kingston, Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth.

About the service

SPEAR offers a range of accommodation and support services to help people develop skills, improve their health and wellbeing, and build a fulfilling life. It works closely with support services, volunteers, local authorities, businesses and individuals in the local community to enable sustainable change in people's lives.

Eligibility

To access SPEAR services, clients must be officially verified as rough sleeping in the borough. In order to make a referral for a rough sleeper, complete a Streetlink referral. We cannot take referrals for people who are unverified as rough sleeping through this pathway.

Contact

The Restart Scheme

The Restart Scheme, delivered on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions, is part of the government's 'Plan for Jobs'. It provides personalised employment support to individuals who have been out of work for between 12 and 18 months.

Reed in Partnership is working with Maximus to provide the Restart Scheme in Richmond upon Thames.

About the scheme

The Restart Scheme provides a bespoke service to each participant. Each individual is assigned an adviser to work with on a 1-to-1 basis. This adviser will work to understand the needs and help guide participants on their journey into employment.

There is a range of internal support teams, including internal Skills and Academy trainers who are able to deliver character-based courses aimed at upskilling and building confidence, and internal Recruitment teams who source relevant vacancies.

The offices offer a digital hub for participants to use and engaging training rooms, as well as a team that are ready to support and guide participants on their journey into work.

Eligibility

Referrals must be made through the Jobcentre first where eligibility and suitability will be assessed before being referred.

Contact

Visit the Restart Scheme website.

Up to: Jobs and careers

Updated: 08 November 2022

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