KibbleWorks

KibbleWorks is our enterprise and employment hub. It offers a spectrum of training and employment opportunities for young people who are in care/preparing to leave care, or whose needs cannot be met within their own communities.

Using a traditional pre-apprenticeship model to support a young person who has a range of social, emotional, behavioural and educational difficulties, staff demonstrate leadership skills whilst acting as role models and providing structured boundaries. The staff are qualified in their own areas of expertise and many also have child and youth care qualifications.

The young person works within this structured environment alongside an enterprise co-ordinator, picking up a range of skills particular to the job at hand, as well as transferable skills such as team working, how to behave and how to expect to be treated in the workplace, time management, punctuality and customer service.

Young care leavers have been identified as a group most likely to be unemployed, imprisoned, at risk from substance abuse, self-harm and depression. Planned throughcare programmes with effective continuing personal support in the period after leaving care, plus improved access to employment, education and training have been identified as the key components to promote inclusion of this disadvantaged group.

Our training and employment service was expanded in 2010 to offer work experience, training and employment to young people aged 18 to 24 who have a range of barriers to employment.

From April 2010 to July 2011, 117 young people were offered work in construction, marketing, events, administration, community gardening, recycling and re-use, car mechanics, child and youth care, classroom support work, catering, maintenance/trades, information technology and domestic appliance repair.

The programme had a number of significant outcomes:

Kibble Construction completed the refurbishment of a detached house in Paisley, and a block of five houses in Richmond Drive, Linwood is currently undergoing extensive rebuilding. A residential property in Love Street owned by Kibble is being comprehensively upgraded to extend facilities for young people making the transition from care to independent living.

Project OsKar (re-use and recycling) has diverted over 50 tonnes of waste from landfill through a variety of recycling initiatives and by selling furniture through their warehouse showroom.

• The project works with six housing associations and has cleared and refurbished more than 10 flats and helped 150 low-income families equip their new homes.
• Project OsKar has established links with a number of local primary schools and school pupils visit the warehouse for a lesson in recycling.
• These visits and lesson packs were devised by a teaching professional and follow guidelines from Curriculum for Excellence.
• Project Oskar won the Local Authority Partnership Award at a ceremony organised by Community Resources Network Scotland.

The Central Solutions Team (CST) provides administrative support to the KibbleWorks programme. It has:

• Designed five websites (including this one!)
• Mailed a total of around 12,000 marketing leaflets
• Designed more than 30 internal leaflets and posters and co-ordinated the production of the first Kibble Annual Review
• Co-ordinated a major recruitment campaign for Kibble’s Intensive Fostering Services
• Managed recruitment of all participants and all record-keeping and monitoring relating to their employment as well as providing employability support services.

The Events Team successfully organised five major conferences (including one international specialist research event) covering a variety of subject areas and a number of smaller internal events and awards dinners.

In the Mechanics Enterprise 1000 vehicles have been repaired and maintained.

A Community Garden of one acre supported by the Climate Challenge Fund is already providing the Kibble kitchens with a huge variety of produce and for staff and pupils' meals. Food waste from the kitchens is turned into compost for the Community Garden, using our new composter.

The ICT Team logged and resolved over 2000 computer problems, and a well-equipped workshop has been established.

All of the above demonstrates that KibbleWorks is effectively blending job creation, economic and workforce development and training for young people facing multiple barriers. This approach has been identified internationally as a proven model for helping people with high barriers to move into the workforce.

Participants’ Training

All participants undertook an induction programme appropriate to their position incorporating First Aid, Manual Handling, Health and Safety, Child Protection, Food Hygiene, Infection Control, Safe Crisis Management and Forklift Training.

External training dependent on position included:-

• CSCS (Construction Skills Certification Scheme)

• P&J Training - Abrasive Wheels Training

• MI Technologies - SVQ Level 2 Professional Cookery

• Reid Kerr College - Introduction to Human Resource Management

• University of the West of Scotland - IT Academy courses

Additional Support

A Peer Mentoring Programme encourages youth leadership and development and aims to strengthen future job prospects for all participants.

Participants are provided with considerable ongoing support to secure further employment and assistance is offered with CV production, mock interviews, job searches and completion of application forms. This activity will be further enhanced by running a series of job clubs.

Outcomes at 1st July 2011:

• 55/117 participants have gone into other employment (47%)

• 98/117 participants completed their placements (83.7%)

• 16/117 participants were unable to complete their placements (13.6%)