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Information for job seekers

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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.

Explore - skills and personal development programme

Explore is a free, six-week skills and personal development programme, offering a number of workshop activities including introductions to wellbeing, budgeting, cooking, barista, gardening and woodwork. 

About the service

Designed to enable adults experiencing social exclusion to develop their practical skills and confidence, Explore helps rebuild confidence and wellbeing through a variety of workshops and peer support.

Upon completion of Explore, beneficiaries are supported to find volunteer roles, work, or improve their income with new skills, reducing poverty and economic disadvantage.

The combination of socially engaging activities, skills training, peer support, confidence building, mental wellbeing workshops and improved nutrition, contributes towards increased resilience and a better wellbeing.

How Explore is different

Explore aims to provide:

  • Safe and welcoming space in a friendly and inclusive environment
  • Self-improvement and personal development through low pressure learning activities
  • Offers opportunities to gain motivation and grow in confidence

Eligibility

To be eligible you must be:

  • Beneficiaries aged 18 plus are invited to apply
  • Unemployed or on a low income
  • Those living with a mental illness or disability
  • Those at risk or having experienced economic or social disadvantage

Contact

Richmond Furniture Scheme

Richmond Furniture Scheme accepts and collects donations of furniture from the general public in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. 

About the service

The furniture is stored, repaired when necessary and sold at discounted prices to people in need and at marginally lower prices.

The scheme also provides volunteering and work experience opportunities across a range of activities including warehouse and van operations, administration, furniture repair and refurbishment.

Eligibility

Everyone is welcome to access this service. Volunteers are welcome from all backgrounds and participation at the scheme is subject to interview and induction processes.

Contact 

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 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

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.

Twickenham Jobcentre

The Jobcentre is a combined job searching and benefits service for people of working age. Staff assist with job search activities and benefits claims. Part of the Department for Work and Pensions' Jobcentre Plus network.

Eligibility

For Universal Credit you must be:

  • Out of work
  • Working (including self-employed or part time)
  • Unable to work, for example because of a health condition
  • Live in the UK
  • Be aged 18 or over (there are some exceptions if you’re 16 to 17)
  • Be under State Pension age
  • Have £16,000 or less in money, savings, and investments

Contact

Visit the Jobcentre Plus website.

Way2Work Apprenticeships

Way2Work is a professional UK based apprenticeship training provider offering apprenticeship vacancies and full-time job opportunities for people aged 16 plus.

About the service

The Way2Work service has been successfully supporting young people to find apprenticeship vacancies and achieve their apprenticeship qualifications for 40 years. They work with local employers who value and encourage them to achieve their full potential.

Fully funded by the Skills Funding Agency, we deliver intermediate, advanced, and higher apprenticeships on behalf of London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, the Royal Borough of Kingston and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.

Eligibility

Aged 16 pus and apprentices will be required to have taken Level 2 English and maths tests, prior to completion of their apprenticeship.

Contact

If you would like to become a Way2Work apprentice or think that your business could benefit from the addition of an apprentice, please contact us:

Up to: Jobs and careers

Updated: 19 April 2024

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