Programme helps almost 9,000 people find work or training

An innovative programme, which East Midlands Chamber helped deliver, has supported almost 9,000 economically inactive people in finding work or training.

The D2N2 Building Better Opportunities (BBO) scheme connects local authorities, businesses and other key agencies with the aim of tackling long-term unemployment.

It has supported 8,908 economically inactive people across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

Comprising three distinctive projects promoting social inclusion, it has helped 1,102 of these individuals to progress into employment, assisted 864 into long-term education or training, and enabled 492 people to independently search for jobs.

Funded by the European Social Fund and National Lottery Community Fund, BBO – which ended last month after six years – has been led by a consortium of voluntary and community organisations across the country.

In the D2N2 region, four stakeholder managers were employed or seconded to East Midlands Chamber and hosted within the four upper-tier councils, with a remit to co-ordinate the £31 million programme across the wider employment and skills landscape.

The chamber has also played a central role in connecting individuals with employers, and promoting an inclusive recruitment agenda among businesses that have skills gaps.

Paul Needham, the chamber’s head of employment services, said: “It’s fantastic to be able to reflect on the tremendous work of the BBO programme in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, where the lives of many people have been transformed because of the support it has offered them.

“Our stakeholder managers have been remarkable additions to the employment and skills landscape in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire over the past five years, generating new person-centric ideas and influencing system change in how we tackle the issue of long-term unemployment.

“At the chamber, we have been keen to promote the inclusive recruitment agenda among the business community.

“With our members telling us about the skills shortages that are consistently holding them back from growing, expanding the labour pool to encompass people from a wide range of backgrounds can bear fruit by filling vacancies with employees who have received support to address barriers to work and turn their lives around.”