Employment

LDAN Employment Pathways Project

Many drug and alcohol services in London are working with training and employment support services to create positive pathways to employment for their service users. However, to date this work has not been significantly highlighted or promoted within London. LDAN has been funded by the City Parochial Foundation over two years to identify and collate good practice, to start building an evidence base on what works in employment support for people with drug and alcohol problems, to disseminate this to LDAN members and to influence pan-London and national policy and strategy in this area.

LDAN has set up a pan-London Employment Expert Group to advise on this project. The group is made up from Key service providers, service user representatives, JobCentre Plus, NTA, LDPF and the UKDPC among others. LDAN, with support from the expert group, are holding a series of events/workshops in 2010-11 on employment pathways for people with drug or alcohol problems in London.

The first event on ‘What works in employment support?’ was held on 11th November 2009 at City Hall. The meeting was extremely well attended and had a focus on both developing internal employment support services within drug and alcohol organisations and making links to external providers. The group work discussions from the day can be accessed here. (PDF) Please also find presentations below:

Internal education training & employment services within drug/alcohol organisations
Blenheim CDP/Service User Drug Reference Group – Laraine Start/Tim Sampey
Phoenix Futures - Adele Duncan Harvey
Creating partnerships with external employment support providers
Job Centre Plus - Carol Adams
NTA – Jo Roebuck
Red Kite Learning – Evet King
Off the Streets and into Work (OSW) - Michael Fothergill
The above event informed the November/December Employment Special Edition of LDAN News (PDF 1.2MB)

LDAN Employment Event on Welfare Reform, 10th March 2010, The Resource Centre

On 10th March LDAN held an event on Welfare Reform and its implications for drug and alcohol services and service users. Colin Wilke-Jones, Head of the Drugs & Alcohol Policy Unit at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) outlined the current DWP strategy and also the proposed welfare reform pilots to be introduced in October this year (including central London).

DWP presentation on Welfare Reform (PPT 281KB)

The event included group work on working with the new Drug Coordinators in London, introduced by Carol Adams, Regional Drugs Lead, JobCentre Plus and facilitated by the London Drug Coordinators Emma Jarnell, Chris Holborough and Geoff Randall. The write up of the group work responses can be accessed here (PDF 41KB)

The event also involved a Welfare Benefits Surgery session in which the audience posed questions on benefits to a panel of experts including Jo Gloster from JobCentre Plus, Lee Healy from Income Max and Shonagh Dodd from Camden Welfare Rights Team.

LDAN will be holding future events on Training and Skills Development and Building Links with Employers (dates and agendas to be confirmed). To join the mailing list, or to find out more about the LDAN Employment Project, please contact Esther Sample, LDAN Policy Officer, esthers.ldan@drugscope.org.uk