Helen Oparinde, NCVS Group Support Coordinator was invited to deliver a progress report on the NCVS’s Broxtowe Project at the virtual Broxtowe Employment and Skills Partnership meeting on Thursday 7 November 2024, which was organised by the Planning and Economic Development team at Broxtowe Borough Council.
The purpose of the partnership is to influence and steer the employment and skills element within Broxtowe Borough Council's plans.
It also serves to ensure that current and future skills needs of employers are met, support increased productivity across the area, and ensure social inclusion, affording all members of the local community meaningful work opportunities.
Membership is open to any organisation providing employment and skills activities that benefit people in Broxtowe. The partnership meets quarterly, with its next meeting planned for February 2025.
Event highlights
At the autumn quarterly meeting, a variety of organisations attended. Including the King’s Trust, a charity that supports unemployed or economically inactive young people aged 16 to 30 years old in Broxtowe borough.
As well as statutory representation from the government’s Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), who discussed the pension credit campaign to boost take-up of this vital benefit. With the Winter Fuel Payment soon only being granted to those receiving Pension Credit, it’s more important than ever for everyone of pension age and above to check whether they are eligible to claim it. Saturday 21 December 2024, is the last possible date to make a successful backdated claim to receive the Winter Fuel Payment.
Organisations such as Citizens Advice Central Nottinghamshire, which are VCSE partner representative, explained how they are supporting the campaign as well.
Other topics covered included those by Nottingham Trent University (NTU), who spoke about the way local employers can get in touch with them about their needs/challenges and how their student short-term placements might be able to assist.
Their downloadable employer toolkits give helpful advice and guidance when recruiting NTU students and graduates. From the attract part of the process—making sure your organisation can attract the talent it needs when advertising new positions, to selecting the right candidate for a role within your organisation, to welcoming in a new member to your team.
Impact and outcomes
Feedback was positive about how the NCVS Broxtowe project is progressing when Helen explained the number of one-to-one support sessions already provided and details of the type of fully funded training booked/attended by local groups so far. These being: Addressing the Barriers to Volunteering, Dealing with Conflict in your Volunteering Programme, Essentials of Volunteer Management, Introduction to Safeguarding Adults, and Introduction to Safeguarding Children and Young People.
The meeting was a useful opportunity to explore joint working initiatives.
Since then, Helen has met with one of the partners to explore jointly delivering a fundraising-type of training session.
We will keep you updated about this, but in the meantime:
- If you are part of a group offering services to the residents of Broxtowe Borough, do get in touch with Helen to see how she can help your organisation. Be that fully funded training or one-to-one support. Helen can be contacted by email at heleno@nottinghamcvs.co.uk. Or by telephone at 07908 357037. Download our flyer to see what's on offer.
- Continuing the topic of employer recruitment NCVS’s Volunteering Development Officer, Dave Thomas, reminds us that when writing a volunteer role description, the principles are what’s in it for me (i.e., for the volunteer), what skills does the volunteer require to carry out the role, and what tasks do you want a volunteer to carry out. And finally, remembering the difference between a paid role and a volunteer role, that as an organisation you need to be flexible. For more thoughts on volunteering, read Dave’s latest blogs in the volunteering sub-section on our news page.
- To find out more about skills, training, and employment in Broxtowe, visit Broxtowe Borough Council’s website.
