Leeds Rhinos Foundation, the official charity of Leeds Rhinos, is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year and to mark the occasion we are taking a look at some of the fantastic projects they deliver to help change lives through sport.
For the majority of Leeds residents, Headingley Carnegie is best known for its sporting heroes but for some adults in the city it is much more than that and has become a lifeline that has helped them gain employment skills, overcome personal battles and gain confidence.
Work Club, which is a project run by Adult Learning Officer Jaci Hawkins in the TryZone centre and is funded by Lloyds TSB, supports people in the local community, who are actively seeking work.
Run in conjunction with the Department for Work and Pensions, it is part of the Leeds City Work Club Network and attendees are referred to the Work Club from their local Job Centre. The main focus of Work Club is to help job seekers get into work and during their sessions they will cover areas such as online job searching, CV and cover letter writing, interview techniques, mock interviews while also providing them with the opportunity to meet other people to share job hunting experiences.
The success of the Work Club is down to Jaci’s personalised teaching programme, which has focussed on assessing the needs of individuals and working with them to address these to best prepare them for work. This has involved teaching some of the members how to speak and read English, preparing them for GCSE’s and equipping them with the right skills for interviews. The charity also delivers a range of courses alongside Work Club as part of the Leeds City Council Community Learning Employment and Skills programme including: Preparing for Interview, Preparing for Work and Basic ICT for Jobseekers.
Speaking about the Work Club project at TryZone, Jaci said: “Many of the young adults who use our service can speak little English when they arrive, which not only makes it difficult for them to find work but can also leave them feeling excluded from their community. Everyone who attends the club is enthusiastic and fully committed, no matter how daunting the task ahead may be and we have had a number of success stories.
“Very few of those who use this service have ever been to the stadium to watch a sporting game but they enjoy coming here and being with others who are eager to learn in this friendly environment.
Two of the service users who have come to the UK from Nepal are currently attending Work Club sessions at TryZone and say it has been a huge benefit to them.
“The first time I came to TryZone I was a bit confused and a bit frightened but after a while the friendly environment and the helpful manner of everyone made me happy and welcome. It not only helps us job search but it also provides English classes for those who are not good with English. All the whole team, Jaci, Nigel,
Janet and Tyler help us with English and computers. When I came here I lacked interview skills so Jaci set up an interview skills class and that really improved my confidence and helped me with interview questions and other things like what to wear.
“My sister and I are preparing for our Maths GCSE and Jaci is helping us with this as a tutor and I am really thankful to everyone here.”
Another attendee, who came to England five years ago from Iraq also spoke of his experiences at Work Club: “I went to the Job Centre and they told me about the programme that helps you with CV writing and English so I came along. I have done an interview course which has helped me prepare for interviews and they have also helped me with Maths and English. They brought in two people from British Gas to interview us. I was nervous but it was really helpful.”
There was further praise for the work of TryZone in going above and beyond to help, with one service user saying how the centre had taught them to read and speak English: “I am originally from Pakistan but have lived here for 11 years. Before coming to TryZone my English speaking was limited and I could not read at all. Now after attending here it has helped me so much and I am now able to read which has helped change my life and it is something I really enjoy. I have been doing an ESOL course and this has all helped me look for work and put together a CV. It is a really nice environment here and Jaci works so well with us on a one to one basis and I am grateful for all she has done for me.”
If you would like to find out more information about the Headingley Work Club or find out how you or your company could get involved in it, please contact Jaci Hawkins on 07817 018603 or e-mail jaci.hawkins@leedsrugbyfoundation.org