Mercian have an on-going commitment to invest in key communities and are focussed on providing services that tackle more than just four walls and a roof. We are working hard to understand the needs that our customers have ranging from Employment & Training, Health and Financial awareness.
To do this Mercian used feedback from over 100 residents to design two community outreach events which offered support and gave information on employment opportunities, training, social and financial exclusion and health to local people.
The very first of these events took place at Erdington & Sparkhill in February 2006 and proved to be a great success.
Almost 100 people took advantage of the expert advice on offer from a range of Employment and Training Providers and health & financial experts such as Job Centre Plus, Eastside City Jobs, Connexions, Ingeus, Pertemps and Credit Unions. Health issues were addressed by Primary Care Trust and Ward Support officers from Erdington were on hand to share information about the community.
Mercian decided to evaluate the events 6 months after they took place to see if they had made a difference to people’s lives.
- 4 people gained employment
- 26 people signed up with employment support providers or training organisations to help with the journey back into work
- Jobcentre plus engaged with over 40 people giving advice on local vacancies and benefits
- The Primary Care Trust gave health advice and guidance to over 30 people
- Credit Unions promoted their savings scheme an signed up 3 new accounts
- People interested in becoming home owners could speak to Mercian’s representatives regarding various home ownership options on offer
Mercian believes that these events are just the start and we will continue to listen to you about the changes you want to happen in your lives, and we will link up with organisations who can help.
Some examples of the comments made on the day…
Excellent opportunity to access employment…
All staff were wonderful & helpful…
Excellent event, wide variety of information…
Excellent idea for people in the community.
Could do it more often… Enough time to speak to me.
Very pleased… Great idea, life changing…
The staff were very professional, nice and made me feel welcome…
Very helpful and informative…
I Found Enta Providers very useful…
Mercian staff very helpful…
Job Centre Plus staff very helpful – gave us loads of ideas and tried hard to help our needs…
Atmosphere very upbeat – was not intimidated…