European Social Fund in England

Case studies: Get Set Build – upskilling and providing non-traditional employment opportunities for women

Get Set Build was part of ESF funding called ‘On Your Marks’, which had the aim of supporting the 2012 Olympic and Paralympics Games to be held in the UK The funding sought to increase and develop the skills of those working in the Construction, Sports and Recreation Sectors. The East of England was allocated £5.4million ‘On Your Marks’ funding in mid-2006.

Get Set Build was an innovative and effective response to changing economic drivers – and the needs, experiences and aspirations of women. Its main activities and achievements are set out below.

The project helped 376 women to improve their self-confidence and Employability Skills. Several had suffered from Domestic Abuse and as such would have been unlikely to attend mainstream courses.

60 female volunteers received specific training to improve their skills as a volunteer, including IT, Leadership, Business Skills and First Aid.

34 women employed in Construction, Logistics and Sports and Leisure sectors, achieved unit(s) accreditation at NVQ Level 4. 85 attended the training.

100 women completed the Diversity Awareness Talent Key Programme, which has been proved to successfully unlock the talents and overcome the perceived barriers to employability of unemployed women.

Over 145 women completed the Pre-Start Programme, which linked into Incredit’s pre-start training and Social Enterprise/Co-operative business models training.

All beneficiaries received Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) and signposting to further training as agreed in their IAG sessions.

Speaking of their course, one participant said “Virtually all areas were applicable to my role, as the company is young and the team and processes are still forming. Being on the course will help me shape virtually all areas of the team….and I look forward to my qualification.”

As the project supported the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympic games, working with voluntary organisations added a further dimension to Get Set Build: flexible needs led training which enabled organisations to up skill existing volunteers and attract new volunteers.

For further information about the project please contact getsetbuild@exemplas.com or ClaireC@exemplas.com