Employment and skills

A key element of the recovery process is developing new skills towards finally moving into employment

We believe that every homeless person should have the opportunity to gain the education, skills and training they need to move into work.

We know homeless people can and do get back into work - our successes show it can be done.

We want to see an emphasis on supporting the individual and their needs from the very first possible moment, including looking at what support they need to gain basic skills through to supporting them into sustainable and meaningful employment. Inherent in the success of this is a supportive benefits system that enables people to move back into work with the correct support.

We are asking the Government to:

• Record people's status as homeless when they apply for benefits, and to take this into account when providing support
• Assess not only an individual's health, but also their level of employability and then provide support accordingly
• Pay specialist providers to deliver appropriate support to move homeless people closer to the labour market
• Create a fair and transparent benefits system which is not a burden to access and does not act as a barrier to employment

Our reports

Just the Job summary report: A report by St Mungo's for Action Week 2010 on supporting homeless people's journey into work (June 2010)

Work Matters full report:This report, which was written by the think tank Demos to coincide with Action Week 2010, looks at the problems homeless people face getting back into work (June 2010)

Read more of our employment and skills consultation responses and briefings.

Our impact

• In 2011-12 our Skills and Employment team supported 441 people into learning, and helped 138 gain a qualification
• More than 150 clients benefited from IT training in a six-month period
• 90% of the 58 formerly homeless people who completed our Apprenticeship Programme went on to find jobs within St Mungo's or elsewhere

Find out more about what we think

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  Employment and skills

  Our latest briefings on employment and skills provisions
  Find out more
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  Basic skills

  Supporting people into work means developing basic skills
  Find out more
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  Employment support

  Appropriate support is critical to helping homeless people find work
  Find out more
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  Benefits

  We want a benefits system that supports people into work
  Find out more