The Baytree Centre has been holding a number of workshops equipping women for the future, with IT skills sessions and weekly employment support.
The Steps into Work programme, provided by Project Officers from High Trees, provides women enrolled in the FATIMA Project with a minimum of six hours of one-to-one employment and careers advice, where they receive holistic support. Coaching identifies the women’s needs and allows personalised, achievable targets to be created, whilst CVs are designed so that they reflect her skills, knowledge and experience.
Baytree’s series of IT support sessions have further helped women to prepare for their futures. These began with the basics of IT vocabulary, creating and saving documents and Google search, but later progressed to providing employer-valued skills such as document and data sharing via cloud and memory sticks. The sessions have helped to improve their language skills and have been integrated into English classes, as women practice using tools such as online dictionaries for literacy and grammar. They have also integrated life skills such as creating personal targets and adding them to CV documents and filling out online application forms.
High Trees have also helped individuals to contact and build links with employers to ascertain vacancy requirements, supported them when building their job applications, and helped with job interview preparation through mock interviews and the provision of constructive feedback. Baytree has also organised links with Dress to Impress, a charity providing access to suitable clothing for interviews and uniformed work, meaning that women are well prepared for the opportunities that they find.
The FATIMA project is funded by the European Union’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.
