Routeways to Work Project

We have been awarded funding for 2 years until September 2007 to deliver a supported employment service for people from minority ethnic groups who require individual support to get and keep paid work and to maintain our Employer Forum on Diversity.

Further information is available on the project leaflet. The supported employment project is open to anyone from an ethnic minority who needs additional support to find work. Our staff, Zerqa Ahmad and Hassanat Ahmed, will provide a range of individualised support to help customers. This could include: image of Routeways leaflet - click to open acrobat document in new page

  • support to compile CVs and prepare job applications
  • help with job searching and interview support
  • workplace training and support
  • support with building work skills and basic skills
  • help with choosing the right career through work experience and work tasters

Please contact us for further details about the project and the support available.

The funding comes from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister through the Invest to Save budget. It funds a wider initative in Bury known as Routeways to Work that will see a range of local initiatives.

The Routeways to Work project will add to and combine with other Council initiatives to improve job prospects for everybody across the borough. The project seeks to improve the linkages between the various services involved in helping people to find employment.  It will be delivered over a 2 year period and will cover a range of activity including: 

  • Formation of a Youth Mentoring programme - This project aims to recruit a full time project co-ordinator to train Asian volunteer mentors to offer one to one support to youths, to engage and develop links with local high schools and Bury College and to identify potential beneficiaries and secure resources from college and schools.  It will provide organise cultural, education, and recreational events to motivate and engage Asian youths. The project will organise workshops and surgeries on alternative career options and visits to large employers, universities, colleges and training providers to explore career/education opportunities. Contact: Tan Ahmed 0161 764 6749
  • Creation of an Employment Centre managed by the Asian Development Association of Bury - The aim of this project is to improve job prospects of Asian adults, increase access and usage of mainstream services through the creation of an employment centre. Contact: Tan Ahmed 0161 764 6749
  • Multicultural business support - Delivered by Business Solutions, this project will raise the competitiveness of ethnic minority businesses in Bury and create opportunities for sustainability and employment growth. Contact Asghar Ali 0161 765 3661
  • Setting up a Women's Basic Skills project - This project starts adult learners who face significant educational, language and cultural barriers to learning on the road to further education and employment.  The majority of participants will be Punjabi-speaking Pakistani heritage women from the largest minority ethnic community in Bury.  The project aims to address the specific needs of these participants by providing a structured programme where classes are held initially in a local school and are run by a tutor from the same cultural linguistic and religious background. For more information, please contact Linda Tetik or Shahina Jawed on 0161 253 6423
  • Maintaining an Employers' Forum on Diversity - This project aims to engage with local employers on the issue of managing diverse workforces. It brings large and small, public and private employers together to discuss particularly relevant issue – how to develop and support workforces that represent the local community. For more information, please contact Fred Bowen on 0161 761 4662
  • Creating volunteering opportunities with Re>BUILD - The aim of this project is to develop a structured volunteering programme within RE>BUILD which will recruit volunteers from ethnic minority backgrounds and enable them to build or rebuild their skills for employment.  In particular, the project will aim to work with refugees and asylum seekers within the Bury area, as well as the larger Asian population. Contact: Liz Jackson on 0161 764 0444
  • Access to accredited training in childcare. This project is delivered at the Mosses Centre in Bury and offers accredited volunteering in childcare and training to NVQ standards. Participants will be able to gain better confidence, improved parenting skills and child care skills through a 10 week course. Contact: Katrina Mitchell on 0161 761 2079
  • Also involved in the Routeways to Work project are Third Sector Enterprises who will be completing a feasibility study on creating a social enterprise to deliver childcare and Manchester Enterprises who are working with investors to ensure maximum benefit for ethnic communities as new companies move into the Bury area.

Other benefits expected to be achieved through the project include improved economic activity in the ethnic minority communities; overall regeneration of the area; reduction in poverty and social exclusion; and better community cohesion.

For more information about the Routeways to Work project please contact the Economic Development Unit by phoning 0161 253 6356 or emailing d.w.fowler@bury.gov.uk