Network of Employability Support and Training

The Network of Employability Support and Training (NEST) is a programme of grant-funded providers supporting clients in Edinburgh with employability.

A total of 14 projects began delivering support on 1 April 2022, with projects funded until March 2025. These projects wrap around the larger, contracted provision.

Access to Industry - Access Data

Access Data will work with unemployed or in-work/low income people in Edinburgh. It will recruit individuals who have an interest in developing digital and data skills and progressing towards data/digital jobs. The project will target the Edinburgh and South East City Deal’s Data-Driven Innovation’s (DDI) skills gateway priority target groups, including people with a disability, from a minority ethnic background, who are neuro divergent, veterans, and women. The project wil include taster sessions, 1:1 support, groupwork, and progression to related courses.

Access to Industry - EdinME

EdinMe is a service for people aged 16-21 (25 if care experienced) with emerging and entrenched mental health issues affecting their progression towards sustained employment. Developing referral routes, EdinMe will particularly seek to support those who are care experienced and young people leaving prison – groups who are particularly susceptible to poor mental health. The project will support young people to improve their mental health and achieve positive outcomes through therapeutic engagement, wellbeing support, and continuity.

Action for Children - Care First

Action for Children will deliver CareFirst, a programme of introductory vocational activity for young people to access social care opportunities/employment. CareFirst will target unemployed 18-24 year-olds impacted by poverty and/or disadvantage. Key workers provide holistic, person-centred 1:1 support to meet individual needs, as well as interactive groupwork, vocational training, and accreditation. There will be a 4 week introduction to social care, 2 weeks working on accreditation/certification, and a minimum of 6 months of aftercare, working on progressing the young person to an appropriate destination.

Action for Children - Youthbuild

Youthbuild provides recognised industry qualifications, vocational training and work trials leading to full time employment within the construction industry. All training is delivered in house and includes CSCS (5 year green card), REHIS and several other certificated qualifications. The programme is aimed at unemployed young people aged 16-24 who may be experiencing barriers to employment. The programme is 6 weeks in total including a 4 week training period followed by a 2 week work trial with an employer. On successful completion of the work trial participants will be offered paid employment. Participants will be supported in work for up to 6 months through regular site visits.

**REHIS has replaced the Health and Safety level 4 qualification so we can do a day's course rather than a full SQA qualification in order to achieve the full 5 year card. **

Barnardo's - STEP2WORK

Barnardo’s will deliver a tailored, holistic, person-centred programme to support young people aged 16-24 to enter employment, undertake an apprenticeship, or enter training/further education. The project offers wrap around support with personal development and learning experience in particular for young people who have left school with no/few qualifications, from traditionally underrepresented groups, including from minority ethnic groups, Care Leavers, with mental health and/or disabilities and identified as long-term unemployed.

Space and Broomhouse Hub - Space Station (Food and Retail)

Space Station will help people with additional support needs, those requiring mental health support and people with experience of the criminal justice system move towards, or find, sustainable employment in the food, catering and hospitality sector. The programme is 20 weeks; the first two months involves attending a Monday morning practical training course to gain foundational skills in food, catering and hospitality, plus a Tuesday afternoon for employability training and support. The next 3 months involve doing an on-the-job training placement in our on-site social enterprise, Space Kitchen, where trainees can gain experience in our operational café and kitchen, front of house, our pizza delivery project, community garden or conference centre. Upon completion of this training we support trainees into a positive destination in the catering and hospitality sector.

Citadel Youth Centre - Futureheads

Futureheads is a locality based service for 16-21 year olds in North East Edinburgh, who are at stage 2 of the pipeline. Futureheads will also provide an ‘in house’ Stage 2 progression for young people on activity agreements, who are accessing our activity agreement hub (stage 1). Futureheads will provide the following services on a weekly basis: Careers Café; Employability Skills; Accredited Learning and Volunteering Placement. Support is provided through a range of careers café sessions and workshops, group work sessions and individual support where needed, including specialist mental health support.

Cyrenians - Foundations to Employment

Foundations to Employment works with those furthest from employment who struggle to access employment and training providers. Clients are long-term unemployed people with complex issues, including mental health difficulties, trauma, substance misuse, experience of criminal justice and homelessness. Referrers recognize that our intensive, one-to-one outreach approach is most needed for this marginalised group.

Cyrenians - Key to College

Key to College offers much-needed outreach, family keywork and practical assistance to young people to navigate college application, funding and enrolment processes. Cyrenians support young people to establish college contacts, become familiar with college systems and negotiate further courses or alternative options. Without this tailored support they would miss out on further education and ‘drop through the net’. A key part is the provision of laptops/tablets and ancillaries - essential to promote the importance of independent study in a post Covid-19 landscape where blended learning is an essential element of college provision.

Cyrenians - Key to Potential

Key to Potential offers one-to-one outreach support to sixteen year old non-attenders as they transition from school at stage 1 of the pipeline. These young people may only have received very limited, if any, careers support and are at high risk of not gaining a positive destination and becoming long-term unemployed. Our clients are highly likely to face additional barriers which include experiencing mental health issues, social anxiety and isolation, chaotic homelife, poverty, Additional Support Needs and homelessness.

Four Square - Springboard

Springboard targets young people aged 16-24 who are homeless and currently supported across the city of Edinburgh. Participants are recruited from homeless services across the city. Springboard provides opportunities for young people to access employability training, volunteering opportunities and lifestyle management all in a holistic, supported environment.

Impact Arts - Pathways Hub

Pathways Hub is a project for young people – predominately 16-24 – who are long-term unemployed, with a focus on engaging young parents, those requiring mental health support, care experienced, LGBTQI+ and BAME. This will include year-round delivery of Stage 1-3 support based around creative industries – greater permanency and joined-up, holistic support that improves the quality and sustainability of outcomes. Young people engaging in the programme will take part in a number of creative activities. Creative activities are used to provide the vehicle for change and to build confidence in other areas of their lives through team working and collaboration. Employability skills training and qualifications are delivered in a creative way, ensuring that young people remain engaged with the programme

LINKNet - Mentoring for Employment Training Project

Mentoring and Training for Employment and Education project aims to support employment and education development of people from all minority ethnic groups in Edinburgh including refugees, people of all nine protected characteristic groups within the minority ethnic umbrella who are 18 years of age, the unemployed, those who do lower-level jobs that are not on par with their qualifications, people from low-income households, who live on benefits, people from the deprived areas of the city and new migrants. Those who seek LINKnet service have many barriers to their development: Some examples are, language, the lack of knowledge on employability skills, the lack of self-confidence, the lack of understanding of British culture, stereotyping and prejudices. One to one mentoring sessions together with other complementary activities such as English language development, befriending, employability training and staff help on job applications and interviews, prepare the job seekers to overcome those barriers through the exchange of knowledge and experience.

RUTS - Inspire

RUTS are a vocational and employability training provider delivering activities, programmes and qualifications to young people aged 16-24 designed to support skills for work and skills for life. These services are all available through the INSPIRE project. These activities are delivered through a series of vocational and employability training. RUTS vocational programmes use the themes of motorbikes, bicycles and boxing/general fitness to engage young people.

Support @ Work - Support @ Work

Support@Work is an employment rights and responsibilities project linked to Edinburgh Trade Union Council, the service is staffed by two senior experienced union officials and a trainer/organiser - Monday to Friday via a Free phone, with an answer machine service, linked to staff mobiles. Support@Work provides case work support and representation on employment rights to workers/employability service users being supported by health professionals, employability/employment advisers within Edinburgh. Support@Work will provide training sessions over the period 2022 to 2025 for Migrant Workers/those in low paid precarious work sectors and young workers/early school leavers. Support@Work can also provide training for staff on employment rights/law issues on a costed basis.

Volunteer Edinburgh - Voluntary Work Coach

This service will support individuals to access volunteering opportunities which test their work-readiness and improve employability by developing “hard” & “soft” employment skills, gaining valuable work experience & CV/interview material. Target clients are aged 16+ in pipeline Stages 1-3. We will support them to access volunteer opportunities that assist progression into employment, as well as pipeline Stage 5 (to access volunteer opportunities that upskill and support progression from low paid/zero hours employment). The service also assists volunteer involving organisations (charities, social enterprises, public bodies) to identify & support opportunities which address the employability aspirations of clients.