Wokingham Job Support Centre

Registered Charity No 1039801

The Cornerstone, Norreys Avenue, Wokingham RG40 1UE
Telephone 0118 977 0517 Fax 0118 979 6070 email wjscen@yahoo.co.uk

ANNUAL REPORT AND STATISTICS 2006/2007

To go to a particular section of the Annual Report click on the title in the list of contents below.

Introduction

Mission statement

Financial support and gifts in kind

Provision of services and client usage

Reasons for continued levels of attendance

Equal opportunities

Information, advice and guidance

Premises

Staff

Management

Conclusion

Statistics

The Management Committee

Introduction

It gives me great pleasure to present this Annual Report on behalf of all who are involved in one way or another with the Wokingham Job Support Centre. I should like to thank everybody for their hard work throughout the year. We depend on volunteers and two salaried Administrators to give the Centre a professional edge in providing a highly valued facility for our citizens. For various reasons people may need advice and guidance in finding ways back into work; or they may require advice on how to go about a change of career; or to make their Curricula Vitae more professional. The team members at the Centre are keen to use their skills to help others back into work.

1. Mission Statement

The Management Committee has continued with its mission "to assist people throughout the Wokingham Borough who are unemployed, redundant or returning to work after a break, in their search for employment through practical help, advice and support provided by efficient and cost-effective management".

Our objects, agreed with the Charity Commissioners, are broad enough to include'persons residing in the Wokingham Borough who are in need of and unable to gain employment' in particular through the supervised provision of services and facilities not otherwise provided by government agencies. In line with these, the Management Committee is willing to help those approaching redundancy. 16-20 year olds are generally better served by Connexions with whom we have close links. Where our services can offer something extra, we will accept 16-20 year olds referred to us by Connexions. We have links with the Wokingham Employment Support Service (WESS) to whom we can direct people who need more specialist services. We work closely with NextStep who in turn are funded by the Learning and Skills Council.

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2. Financial support and gifts in kind

We are grateful for the continuing financial assistance from Wokingham Borough Council, Wokingham and Earley Town Councils and the local parish councils of Arborfield, Finchampstead, Swallowfield, Winnersh and Wokingham Without.

The financial and practical support provided by Berkshire Nextstep enables continuing access to the database, Birchin Lane, and other specialist software for our clients; services for job-seekers with qualifications less than NVQ2; maintenance and expansion of our library; and continuity of our Matrix accreditation.

In the past we have sent letters to ex-clients wishing them well and inviting them to make a donation towards the funds of the Centre. We have been grateful for that support and may repeat the exercise.

The Management Committee wish to thank all funding bodies and donors including grateful ex-clients for the invaluable help they provide. I am delighted to report that we have been able to maintain our funds to a suitable level which enables the Centre to upgrade its IT equipment from time to time for the benefit of clients, staff and volunteers.

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3. Provision of services and client usage

During the year the Centre has maintained its range of services. Birchin Lane and Internet access continue to be very popular and are used widely by clients. In line with National priorities we are continuing our efforts to meet the needs of clients with qualifications below that of NVQ2.

The needs of clients are changing and the work of our Administrators and Advisors has increased to reflect this, we now need to give more instruction on the basic use of computers and there continue to be clients who speak very little English and need help in other ways.

Our publicity campaign continues, getting our message out around the Borough by poster, leaflets, website and articles in Town and Parish magazines. Our thanks are due to Sarah Richardson, one of the Administrators, who has used her initiative to produce a Newsletter. All of these efforts have continued to help clients who may otherwise have not heard of the services that can be offered by the Centre. During the summer of 2006 we had display stands at the 'Big Idea' series of events organised by 'Churches Together' in their quest to involve people in their community. A local newspaper article about the Centre attracted some new volunteers and advisers.

Analysis by parish shows the distribution of clients from different localities within Wokingham Borough. The handouts show these in detail and I thank the Administrators for providing this vital information regularly to assist us in measuring our performance. These statistics are broadly in the same proportions each year, with clients from Wokingham Town comprising significantly the highest number.

We shall continue to explore ways in which we can reach out into the more remote parts of the Borough where there is a perceived need for our services but reluctance on the part of potential clients to travel into Wokingham Town to visit the Centre is a barrier. We shall maintain communications with the parish councils in those areas to see how they may help and we shall explore other ways in which we may advertise to make people aware of the services we can offer.

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4. Reasons for continued levels of attendance

(a) Few opportunities elsewhere for people to have access to skilled counsellors able to offer free information and advice on finding jobs.
Wokingham Borough is regarded as an area with low levels of unemployment. However, overall employment figures still mask the temporary nature of many IT and other jobs. Short-term contracts are frequently the norm for older clients. Many clients become repeat clients.

(b) Availability of the Birchin Lane database
This very valuable, popular and well-used database of regional job vacancies is downloaded daily and is provided free of charge by NextStep Berkshire.

(c) Access to the Internet
As well as access to the Birchin Lane database of jobs, the Internet is a valuable resource which can be accessed and used by several people simultaneously using the networked computers at the Centre.

(d) Help for specific categories of clients
For certain categories of job seekers there are fewer job opportunities. These include especially middle-aged and older people who require new skills, also some job seekers with disabilities. The Centre has proved invaluable for these clients. We have also established links with the Wokingham Economic Forum.

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5. Equal Opportunities

In line with general employment legislation, the Management Committee continues to operate an Equal Opportunities policy. It has reviewed its practices to ensure that all clients are provided with the best possible help and that the Centre is welcoming to all sectors of the population. The Equal Opportunities Policy is due to be reviewed.

The few clients that there are from ethnic minorities reflects the population balance in the area. Disabled unemployed people are able to obtain assistance through the Employment Opportunities Service immediately they are without work, but the Centre welcomes any disabled person and indeed anyone with a special history who finds our service of use.

We are very grateful for the initiative of one of our Administrators, Rebecca Day, who instigated some 'Equal Opportunities' training for our staff and volunteers. She also represented us at various meetings with partner organisations.

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6. Information, Advice and Guidance

Quality assurance is assuming greater importance as the Learning and Skills Council seek to ensure that providers of information and advice services achieve the quality that clients are entitled to expect. We have gained the Guidance Council's Matrix Quality Standard. This is a National Quality Standard for organisations giving Information, Advice and Guidance.

As part of the continuous quality improvement required within Matrix we provide clients who are still with us after 3 months a structured interview. The purpose is two-fold: (1) to examine progress and help refocus efforts and, (2) to ask them what features of the service they are finding most valuable and what suggestions they have for improvement. These interviews are valuable for the client and for planning the development of the service

WJSC is a member of the Volunteer Centre, a provider for NextStep Berkshire, and an intermediary for Bracknell and Reading Jobcentres.

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7. Premises

We have now been in the Cornerstone for over three years. I would like to thank the management of the Cornerstone and our colleagues next door in the Berkshire Counselling Centre for the friendly and helpful way we have worked together. The renewal of the lease has been successfully negotiated and the Centre Management is pleased that we shall continue to operate from such a splendid location.

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8. Staff

The Centre relies on its two Administrators to be the 'face' of the organisation. Their kindly but business-like assistance is valued by clients and volunteers alike. Sarah and Rebecca work very closely with advisers and other volunteers to make the Centre such a welcoming facility. Two part-time admin assistants Bob Mould and Mary Spence have joined the Centre during the year, we are very grateful for the contribution they make to the running of the Centre.

Our experienced team of ten advisers continue to give excellent service and we are grateful for the way in which they give so freely of their time and professional skills.

We have been very pleased to welcome three new advisers, Carrie Haywood, Anne Sim and Sylvia Betts have undergone the training and are now fully-fledged advisers. The arrival of a fourth new adviser who has completed training, has been unavoidably delayed. We are always pleased to hear from anyone interested in becoming an adviser. By simply calling in at the Cornerstone they would be given a warm welcome and then be able to see for themselves what we do and have an opportunity to talk to the adviser on duty.

The Centre relies a lot on the help of Tony Smith-Crallan who deals with our IT needs and for that I should like to thank him. We are conscious that with ever changing needs of staff and clients there is a need to review our IT strategy and to that end a small working party has been set up under the leadership of Doug Irvine together with Dave Cox and, in conjunction with Tony Smith-Crallan, to define the longer term needs of the Centre and how best to deal with the day to day problems that occur. Dave Cox has also contributed many additional hours reviewing the manual production of our statistics, writing the software to computerise the task and training the Administrators to use it.

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9. Management

The Management Committee are trustees of the Charity and are listed at the end of this report. The full committee met four times in 2006/2007. The practice of holding Officers meetings has been discontinued. Any problems needing urgent attention are dealt with directly by the person who has the expertise in a particular sphere in consultation by e-mail, etc with the other officers. Staff meetings have been altered slightly to make them more informative and provide an opportunity for concerns and problems to be aired. Utilising the Conference Room at the Cornerstone for Staff business meetings has generally been welcomed by all concerned.

The Management Committee has worked effectively together as a team and I have enjoyed working with them all. I must especially thank the Officers for their hard work and support, Jack Earnshaw, our vice-chairman, who is stepping down and whose knowledge and advice has been invaluable. We wish Jack all the best in his move to the West Country and a big "Thank You" for the many years he has been associated with the Centre. Angus Ross, our Treasurer who has exercised careful control of our finances whilst at the same time serving as Chairman and later as Mayor of the Borough Council; John Williams our Acting Secretary for part of the year and the Adviser Co-ordinator; John Porter who has taken over as Secretary and who works extremely hard for the benefit of us all, his expert knowledge of WJSC is awesome. Thanks also to Ivy Dowling who serves as the staff representative (co-ordinator) at our Management meetings. I would also like to thank Doug Irvine who is our NextStep representative and who has steered us through Matrix accreditation, guiding us through a S.W.O.T analysis assisted by Brian Stainton of Social Enterprise Berkshire, undertaking the review of IT needs; and helping us gain a bursary from FORZA.

I would like to thank everyone for the contributions they have made in helping to make this organisation so successful in our communities and supporting the needs of those searching for a job. I should like to thank the various organisations who have nominated people to serve as Trustees and to serve on the Management Committee. If I have missed mentioning everyone by name then I apologise but rest assured your contribution is highly valued.

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10. Conclusion

My first year as chairman has passed very quickly. I have been privileged to be associated with such a professional group of people engaged in making the quality of life more tolerable for those seeking a job or career change. The differing needs and numbers of clients proves that there is still a place for the services it continues to provide. The Management Team is pleased to report that the Centre continues to operate successfully and represents good value for money.

The Committee is firmly committed to enabling the Centre to provide services for as long as they are needed and it continues to monitor usage on a quarterly basis. Every effort is made to exercise economy wherever possible. Our continuous review of procedures through Matrix accreditation has provided a useful validation that they are in line with good practice.

In short, everybody is committed to continue providing a service second to none and for that I should like to thank everyone involved in WJSC.

Iain J Brown, Chairman
12th July 2007

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