Elevate Wokingham Helps Over 300 Young people Since 2016
Since 2016, Wokingham Borough Council’s ‘Elevate Wokingham’ scheme has helped 321 young people across the borough to gain further education, training, work experience or employment.
Optalis
Optalis Supported Employment Service and Wokingham Borough Council has worked to support unemployed 16 to 24 year olds and as a result has significantly exceeded targets upon competition of the three year project.
Based in Wokingham Library, the Elevate Hub offers local young people invaluable information, advice and guidance. Individuals are able to access advice in a vibrant, casual and inviting setting. Not only was the project a huge success, but targets were exceeded by 15%. In addition, the scheme helped more than 100 young people with disabilities to secure employment, education or training.
Wokingham Council
Wokingham Borough Council worked in partnership with Optalis Supported Employment service to provide the service to eligible local residents. The venture was financed by the European Social Fund across all six local authorities in Berkshire. Thanks to the schemes success the Elevate Wokingham service looks set to continue.
“I am overjoyed with the success of our Elevate Wokingham project. It’s incredibly encouraging to know that hundreds of young people across of borough have been given the support and tools required to access either further education, training or employment.” said Cllr Stuart Munro, executive member for business and economic development
He added “Not only have our teams exceeded targets by helping an additional 44 young people, but they’ve demonstrated that funding for projects such as Elevate, have an immense pay back for the local community.”
Elevate
Joanna Flaxman, Elevate manager said: “Having overseen the Elevate programme across Berkshire, it was a joy to watch the team at Wokingham Borough Council and Optalis Supported Employment Service get stuck in, helping so many young people gain the support to take the next steps into adulthood. It can be a challenging time deciding what to do when leaving school, so to be able to offer so many 16-24 year olds with the help, advice and support they require to make decisions about their future is incredibly rewarding.”
Donna Morgans, Optalis supported employment service manager added: “It has been a tremendous honour seeing so many young people achieving their employment goals and aspirations. My team have worked in partnership with Wokingham Borough Council to deliver this programme and to support local young people. We are proud to have achieved and even surpassed Wokingham’s targets. Optalis is looking forward to continuing its work with Central Elevate to continue to deliver this support.”
More Information
For more information on what support is available, please contact 0118 974 6900 or 0118 977 8623. Alternatively you can email employmentservice@optalis.org or elevate@Wokingham.gov.uk.
