Palces For People Group

“An exceptional range of initiatives,” said the judges of
Places for People’s success with tackling worklessness
across England. The group’s many local projects work with
the most economically disadvantaged groups, among them
the long-term unemployed, incapacity benefit claimants,
people from minority communities and lone parents.

The group has more than 25 projects, each of them
delivered in partnership and focused upon specific
neighbourhoods and target groups.

The projects include:
• Building Links: Bridges the gap between those
seeking work in the construction sector and the
skills needed by employers. The project matches
individuals with contractors using expert advisers and
a skills database. Training is developed and procured, and
financial assistance is provided to remove specific
barriers;

• Business Plus: A partnership with three small black
and minority ethnic housing associations (Tung Sing,
Mosscare and Arawak Walton) in Manchester to deliver
‘pre-start’ and ‘post-start’ business support and training;

• Working Rite: A scheme on the Manor Estate in
Sheffield that helps young people not in employment,
education or training to grow into employable and
mature young adults. They are matched with small,
local trades people to give them full-time paid work
experience for six months; and

• AKABA: Offers support and guidance to vulnerable
African Caribbean people with mental health
problems in London to give them the confidence and
competence to enter training and employment. The
project is being developed into a social enterprise
providing services to the local Primary Care Trust. 

Places for People works in a series of partnerships to
deliver the projects and accesses a range of funding
streams to support the work, among them SRB projects,
the European Social Fund, the Neighbourhood Renewal
Fund and the Lottery. The judges were impressed by
the new routes to funding the group has developed,
particularly a zero-interest investment bond, which
is returned to investors after five years.

Each project is monitored and evaluated rigorously to
measure performance against key milestones, outputs and
outcomes. The AKABA project, for example, was independently
evaluated by the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health.

“The programme is strategically integrated within the
housing association’s core business and a clear route
is mapped out to sustain it beyond current funding,”
the judges said.