Across the Local London sub-region our Work and Health Programme has helped over 20,000 people find work or training to get them closer to the job market.

Delivered by Maximus, the Local London Work and Health (WHP) programme provides tailored support for up to 21 months to people who are out of the job market, many who have long-term health conditions and/or disabilities.

As well as providing wrap-around health, well-being and financial support, the programme helps with CV and interview skills and connects people to employers who are actively recruiting.

Fireworks in the background and text that says 20,000+ people helped

Interview successes at Bromley jobs fair

In October 2024, our delivery partner Maximus and the team at the London Borough of Bromley, organised a bespoke jobs fair for local residents on the Local London WHP programme and Restart.

Household brands including Lidl, Centaur and Placing People Direct were among the employers looking to find the right people for their vacancies.

Over 73% of Local London WHP participants were offered interviews!

Having arrived fully prepared with smart CVs, practiced and ready to interview, people on the programmes attended sessions with the employers to discover what it is like working in the business and the roles available.

Throughout the day the people on the programmes were reassured and reminded of their skills, chaperoned to and from meetings with prospective employers, and offered moral support by the Maximus team whilst they attended interviews.

The day reaped benefits. From the recruitment day over 73% of the Local London WHP participants were offered interviews, and some have now started work. Great result! Well done to everyone.

Hands holding a banner that says I got an interview

Aisha turns her life around in just two weeks

Everybody’s journey is different, and we are delighted that after being on the Local London Work and Health programme for just two weeks, Aisha* from Waltham Forest, began her career in the education sector.

Aisha, who is in her 20’s, was referred by her local job centre who thought she would benefit from the programme. They were right!

Understanding why Aisha was out of work, Shabana, her key worker, suggested that her health issues may be related to chronic stress and excessive strenuous pressure. Aisha immediately said “Wow! That sounds so accurate because I was going through a lot of stress during my postgraduate degree and my old workplace.”

They agreed that Aisha would benefit from specialist pain, health, stress management sessions, to help her manage symptoms and learn different coping mechanisms.

With Shabana’s support, Aisha made quick progress. Shabana referred Aisha to a CV specialist. After one meeting Aisha had an outstanding recruiter-ready CV. At the same time, Shabana spoke to her colleagues at Maximus who connect clients to suitable employers and agencies with open vacancies.

I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for your ongoing help!

The team reached out to potential employers and Aisha’s polished CV quickly secured her an interview with Qualiteach, a specialist teaching recruitment agency. Shabana immediately scheduled a mock interview for Aisha to make her real interview less daunting. Aisha’s CV, knowledge and interview conduct impressed the recruiter, and she has embarked on a new teaching career.

“I knew from the first meeting Shabana would be very helpful” Aisha said “She was so kind, caring and her positivity was absolutely contagious. Her own story inspired me and gave me the confidence to take that leap of faith and not let my health condition hold me back. I am so shocked that within 2 weeks I was successful in a job interview. I’m really excited and cannot wait to start my career in teaching. Thank you so much Shabana, I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for your ongoing help!”

Funded by The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), we manage the programme on behalf of our boroughs to help more people get into and stay in good jobs.

 

*Name changed.

 

Our Careers Hub team work hard to ensure that students across our boroughs get the best careers advice and experience possible and make informed and inspired choices post-16.

Integral to this is Local London Careers Hub East’s wide-reaching strategy to engage and support young people with learning difficulties and disabilities (LDD). This includes providing training to careers leaders to empower them to promote LDD options, creating careers information posters for schools and colleges, engaging with employers to entice them to offer more opportunities to young people with LDD through Local London’s Ability NOT Disability workshops.

Photo of adults and students at the Waltham Forest SEND / LDD Careers Fair.

Dedicated careers fairs open eyes of students with LDD and teachers

Responding to the needs of students with LDD, the team recently organised two dedicated careers fairs for students at specialist and mainstream schools, held south of the river at the Bromley Campus of London South East College Trust and at Waltham Forest College north of the river.

Both events were a resounding success. Feedback from teachers, students, employers and training providers was very positive. One teacher commented “I was not aware there were so many pathways accessible for students with learning difficulties or disabilities and to find them all together in one room was excellent.” David, a Year 13 student, said he really liked the skills tree and that the employers said they can help young people who are autistic.

At the events, students were able to:

Board with post-it notes answering 'What careers have you learnt about today'The events brought together over 450 students, from 24 special schools across all nine of our boroughs, in addition to mainstream schools in Waltham Forest.

Employers, training providers, and colleges were keen to meet the students and tell them about roles that they could undertake and enjoy. Overcoming any nervousness on the day, the students impressed the organisations which included Transport for London, Metropolitan Police, London Borough of Bexley, Framestore, Ambitious about Autism, Shooters Hill College, KPMG, Higgins Partnership, Project Choice, Mencap, and Scope.

One of our Enterprise Advisers from Mott McDonald ran workshops throughout the afternoon at Waltham Forest College to raise the aspirations of students with special educational needs who attend mainstream schools.

Sarah Murray, Director of Local London said “Across Local London, through our programmes, we are working to help young people and adults get into work. Recognising that many people have different needs we are holding events to highlight opportunities and support available so that doors open.”

Group of adults and young people at the LDD / SEND careers Fair in Waltham Forest

Our thanks to everyone who participated and helped support these events. We look forward to organising more!

If you would like to be involved in our next LDD careers fair, please contact smita.solanki@redbridge.gov.uk / caroline.lee@redbridge.gov.uk

The team are always keen to hear from businesses wanting to work with schools in our boroughs to share their careers stories and inspire our young people to explore all their options.

⇒ Find out the latest news and more about the work of our Careers Hub East team.

⇒ Find out more about our Ability Not Disability training for employers and frontline staff, part of the Mayor of London’s No Wrong Door initiative.

 

We are pleased to announce that following our last Local London Joint Committee, the London Borough of Bromley applied to become a member of Local London and the other boroughs involved have agreed to that.

Bringing our membership to nine London Boroughs, we look forward to building on the work we have already begun with Bromley.

To date this has included employment programmes such as JETS (Job Entry Targeted Support) in response to the impact of Covid, the Work and Health Programme that supports people who are far away from the job market, as well as improving knowledge of services and access to employment through Work Connections.

We will continue to support careers education for young people in secondary schools, colleges, and pupil referral units in Bromley and across the other Local London boroughs to achieve national benchmarks.

Now representing around 100,000 businesses and 2.6 million people – a population greater than Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool combined – we are excited to provide support to more residents, professionals and businesses across north east, east and south east London.

Councillor Baroness O’Neill of Bexley OBE, Chairman of Local London said “I am pleased that the London Borough of Bromley have recognised the benefit of being a member of the Local London partnership. We recognise the benefits of sharing some resources and delivering support across our boroughs when appropriate to give the residents and businesses in our sub-region the best help possible. Now representing over 2.6 million people, our voice has increased in strength.”

About Local London

Local London is a sub-regional partnership of nine boroughs: Barking and Dagenham, Bexley, Bromley, Enfield, Greenwich, Havering, Newham, Redbridge and Waltham Forest.

Representing around 2.6 million residents and 100,000 businesses, we are a champion for this sub-region to ensure it responds to a set of mutual issues and challenges, and benefits from existing and emerging opportunities.

Find out more about Local London’s programmes, partnership and policy work.