Team East for Skills

The Team East team were proud to play host to Lord Sebastian Coe at one of the recent Cambridge 'Warm Up' sessions. Lord Coe visited the workshops during a visit to Cambridge, took part in some team building games led by Living Sport, gave a questions and answers session and awarded Team East Silver graduates with certifcates for their completion of the Team East programme.

Team East for Skills is a 3 year project to enable 1,300 out of work adults (16 plus), whether registered as unemployed or not, to develop skills and confidence to move into volunteering activities, further learning or work. There will be opportunities to take part in sports or arts-themed activities and to be guided into suitable volunteering placements. Mentors will provide one-to-one support and advice.

It is funded by the Legacy Trust and ESF (European Social Fund) and managed by COVER (Community and Voluntary Forum East of England).

The programme was designed after the successful Personal Best programme in London which aimed to connect with and engage workless people living in the vicinity of where the 2012 Olympics are due to be held in order to help them into work or volunteering opportunities. The Olympics will need an estimated 70, 000 volunteers and each participant on the Personal Best programme will get a chance to interview for a role as volunteer for the games.

Participants will be identified to us by a system of referral: This can be done by anyone (participants can also self-refer) but it is expected that the bulk of referrals will come from Jobcentre Plus and Connexions.

Once the participant is identified they will be given a ‘welcome call’ and a letter to let them know that they are signed up to the programme. We are hoping to run the ‘warm up’ sessions monthly.

Warm-ups 

Momentum Arts have started delivery of the Warm Up sessions in Cambridge and Wisbech. These enjoyable and lively two day workshops concentrate on activity designed to engage and motivate people. They comprise of arts or sports activity with the initial referral form completion and welcome phone call aiming to establish the participant’s interests and experience prior to the workshop. The Warm Ups (as far as possible) will then seek to deliver an appropriate activity. The Warm Ups are also the time when participants fill out their Learning Plan to establish want they want from the programme. Participants are able to claim a small sum in travel expenses to attend these sessions.

Bronze Level

Following completion of the two day Warm Up the participant will attend a training course – this could be anything within allocated budget but is likely to comprise of a short course such as one of the Princes Trust ‘Get Into’ courses.

Progression Coaching

Each participant will get the opportunity to be matched with a Progression Coach. This person will guide and advise throughout their journey on the programme. We will ensure that each person is matched appropriately so as to ensure participants receive guidance and support suitable for them.

Below are a couple of case studies outlining the expereince of two participants who have attended Warm Up sessions with Momentum Arts:

David Wood

David attended the first Team East for Skills workshop in Cambridge . Having been referred by the Job Centre he was, in his own words, unsure of what to expect and wondered if this sort of approach was right for him. Having been made redundant from his role as an Administration Officer at the government press office six months previously, David was eager to now find work in his chosen field of arts administration and event coordination. He also had ambitions of working as an artist in residence.

David’s background was originally in the arts having taken a degree in illustration, he had also, more recently, taken on a number of volunteering roles in the arts. He was keen to work full time in the arts but was finding it hard to access the opportunities. Moreover, despite his efforts to find work, he was finding that companies were, at times, non responsive and unwilling to offer feedback on applications. This trend has been reported repeatedly by participants of Team East and this apparent disregard from employers could be seen as a symptom of the economic downturn stemming from the abundance of applications they are currently receiving. However, this serves to undermine the confidence of unemployed people. Indeed, David had recently applied for a job he described as his ‘dream job’ and had not even been informed when the position had been filled.

By the time David attended the Team East Warm-Up he confessed to feeling slightly jaded towards the whole job seeking process. However, once at the workshop he threw himself into all activities, taking part in the creative exercises and using the workshop as a chance to network. David was also very vocal about his feelings in regards to being made redundant and his consequent journey and difficulties faced. He was able to share his experiences with others and in turn help them to identify their own goals.

Working on his Action Plan with Momentum Arts, David was able to work out a plan of what he needed in regards to training. Despite his wealth of experience in his varied role at government office and many volunteering roles he felt he needed a course to consolidate his skills and give him a qualification. Follow up with the Momentum Arts team identified a beginner’s course in Arts Administration which he has since enrolled on. Having met with the tutors David is waiting to start the course in September. David thoroughly enjoyed the course and said the following:

“Being involved in Team East for Skills has offered me the chance to bring all my skills and experience to the table with a hope to generate and discover opportunities for a career in the arts. Opportunities which may not normally be available to me without the involvement of a professional third party to guide and champion me. Having their support has really helped to improve my professional credentials and hopes to find work.”

David joined us for the awards ceromony at a recent Warm Up session where he was awarded a certificate by Lord Sebastian Coe. David has since secured full time employment.

Samora – Case Study

After graduating from Hertfordshire University with a degree in Fine Art, 25 year old Samora returned to his home town of Wisbech . A keen artist, Samora was eager to work in the arts and develop his practise in community settings. Samora works with ‘found objects’ to form collage and 3D installation; although this art form would seem a perfect fit for working with young people and community groups he found it difficult to find out about opportunities in this arena. As we know, the arts can have a reputation for being perceived as closed or ‘cliquey’ and it is often difficult to seek out opportunities in this field when starting out.

Furthermore, Samora found it difficult to take the jump of establishing himself as a freelance artist with the associated monetary constraints meaning that the pressure to earn money led to artistic aspirations being put on the back burner.

Currently unemployed, Samora was referred to the first Momentum Arts Team East ‘Warm Up’ session in Wisbech. He attended the two days and participated in the motivational and artistic activities provided by the two artists. The workshop enabled Samora to identify his artistic aspirations and discuss with two freelance artists already working in this field. Having this time to receive information and guidance from two people who had faced the same problems as him was not only invaluable but was also something that the Job Centre and Connexions would be unlikely to have been able to provide.

Following on from the Warm Up Samora was invited to attend a two day CLiP workshop in Wisbech to act as shadow artist alongside two Momentum Arts’ artists. Samora helped with the photography side of the project and was able to guide and work with the young people to help them explore issues of national identity by way of collage and installation. The workshop was a great success and Samora’s input was invaluable. Samora is now due to support the workshop artist at a series of youth clubs run at the Wisbech venue.

Since attending the Warm Up Samora has also taken up a part-time role at the Babylon Gallery in Ely. He described this as a great opportunity to network and find out more about community arts. Working at a gallery such as Babylon has served to put Samora in the heart of the arts and, he is hoping, will lead to more exciting opportunities in his chosen field.

Finally, Samora said he was pleased he had attended the Team East Warm Up which has led on to numerous opportunities and given him a chance to develop his art practise as a real and viable career option.

Samora joined us for the awards ceromony at a recent Warm Up session where he was awarded a certificate by Lord Sebastian Coe. David has since secured full time employment.

Useful Links:

http://www.candocommunities.co.uk/

www.onceproject.org

http://www.cpltrust.net/