Group items tagged

DWP volunteer brokerage scheme pays charities to provide volunteering opportunities for jobseekers., opened last week, a DWP spokeswoman said it would provide £8m. Final dates have been delayed and there is no current info on the DWP website as of 14/04/09 - may change later on.

"First Figures for DWP Volunteer Brokerage Scheme 30/10/2009 As reported in Third Sector magazine, nearly 2,400 unemployed people have completed volunteering placements in the first five months of the £8m volunteer brokerage scheme being run by environmental charity BTCV for the Department for Work and Pensions. The scheme, which began in April this year, has a target of matching 34,000 jobseekers with volunteering placements within two years. A DWP spokeswoman said the department had no monthly targets, but expected the numbers to rise significantly in future months and did not intend to alter the overall target. The scheme is being run by BTCV in partnership with volunteering charities Volunteering England, CSV and v. BTCV said 1,128 of the 2,365 placements were arranged by BTCV itself and the rest by its partner charities. "

"Not for Profit Contribution to Pathways to Work Highlighted in New Research 30/10/2009 Provider-led Pathways is the final research phase of the Pathways to Work initiative that was first introduced in 2003. It provides information, advice and practical help to people receiving incapacity benefits to help them take up paid employment. Provider-led Pathways is delivered by private companies and not-for-profit third sector organisations rather than Jobcentre Plus. This report presents findings from qualitative research carried out in 2008 to explore experiences of the early implementation of the Provider-led Pathways programme from the perspectives of incapacity benefits recipients, staff of provider organisations, and staff of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Jobcentre Plus."

New Regional Worklessness Fund for LAA and MAA Areas 13/11/2009 A new funding opportunity will shortly be launched by the SW RIEP Local Economy Programme. A combination of funding from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and SW RIEP will be used to assist local authorities and their partners as they work to alleviate worklessness and deliver their worklessness related LAA and MAA targets. The funding will be used in two ways: * each LAA or MAA area will be invited to submit a proposal to draw down funding to support projects addressing the causes and effects of worklessness in their area * Regional Worklessness Network will be established to supplement the individual project proposals from local authorities