Work and Health Programme Pioneer: helping Andrea into a new digital career

Work and Health Programme Pioneer was launched in September 2023, to provide personalised help to support people facing complex barriers to work. Different to other programmes, it is designed to provide support to help people get into work quickly, whether they are receiving benefits or not.

People in the Local London sub-region can be referred to this support by local Jobcentres as well as Maximus UK, our contracted delivery partners.

⇒ Get in touch with Maximus UK about Work and Health Programme Pioneer. 

This is one of our suite of employment programmes that combined have helped over 16,000 local people find work, many of whom were furthest from the job market and facing barriers to entering employment.

Andrea, from Havering, was looking for work that could fit around her childcare responsibilities and was eager to work. Andrea’s local jobcentre recognised she would be a good fit for Work and Health Programme Pioneer and made the referral to Maximus, who were delighted to talk her about her skills and passions, and the help the programme could provide.

Andrea was matched with Sandra, one of the programme’s key workers at Maximus. Sandra helped apply for roles that would benefit from her creative flair and previous experience in merchandising. With help from Sandra to revamp her CV, it was not long before she landed a part-time flexible role as a merchandiser.

Helped to find work Andrea’s story did not end there.

Andrea had long-term unfulfilled career ambitions of getting into web development, so Sandra helped her enrol onto a web development bootcamp. Andrea is doing this alongside her job, and Sandra is supporting her to build a new web developer CV and portfolio based on the projects and homework which Andrea is doing through the bootcamp.

Andrea said “My keyworker, Sandra, has been very helpful through this experience and has been with me every step of the way. She is currently helping me pursue my long-term goal to be a web developer.

Through Work and Health Programme Pioneer, I got help with creating and tailoring my CV, job searches and to get a part-time job. Importantly, I was shown how working would affect my current benefits and housing support as I wasn’t sure if I would be staying in the same accommodation.

On top of this I was reimbursed for the cost of my first month of travel and clothes to wear and have had check-up phone calls to see how I’m doing and if I need any help with anything.

I am now studying and am excited to start a brand new career in web development once I graduate. I am feeling more confident finding work in this field, and am delighted to have ongoing support now if I need it with the job I am currently working.”

*Names have been changed.

⇒ Get in touch with Maximus UK about Work and Health Programme Pioneer. 

⇒ Find out more about Local London Work and Health Programme Pioneer.