As part of The Growth Company’s supply chain, Athena will be delivering the new Working Well: Support To Succeed contract across GM.
All Athena members will benefit from this new service with 10 members delivering the service. These are:
- Starts With You CIC
- First Choice Homes Oldham
- ForHousing
- Great Places
- Jigsaw Homes
- One Manchester
- Onward
- Southway
- Stockport Homes
- Wythenshawe Community Housing Group
Commissioned by Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the Support to Succeed offer will form part of the wider Working Well suite of programmes, which were launched in 2014 by GMCA to test and further evidence the relationship between work and health to pilot a case for devolution.
Working Well has since developed into a comprehensive employment and health offer, which provides wraparound support across a wide spectrum of need.
Launching in January 2024, Support to Succeed will engage economically inactive Greater Manchester residents who are not currently accessing support or seeking employment. There will also be dedicated support for residents over the age of 50 experiencing age-related challenges such as concerns about returning to work or developing new skills.
The initiative will offer person-centred, one-to-one support with work experience, life skills and employability skills, from CV writing to job application and interview preparation, with the aim of addressing and overcoming barriers preventing employment and progressing towards goals and aspirations.
Support will be offered flexibly over a timescale agreed between participants and the delivery partners dependent on their needs and aspirations.
In addition to people aged over 50, priority groups for the programme include:
- People experiencing homelessness
- Those with caring responsibilities
- Health and/or disability barriers
- Offenders/ex-offenders
- Survivors of domestic abuse
- People dealing with substance misuse
- Armed forces personnel and/or their partners
- People experiencing racial inequalities
- Individuals with low basic workplace skills
