Work and Health Programme: helping 3 in 4 inactive residents find work
Building on strong performances year-on-year, our Work and Health Programme is helping thousands of people find work across our boroughs.
The Local London Work and Health Programme provides dedicated support to people who are furthest from the job market to find sustainable employment. Many of the people the programme supports have disabilities or long-term health conditions, are long-term unemployed, or face other complex barriers to finding work.
Despite the challenges these residents face, our 360-support delivered by Maximus UK across our nine member boroughs has helped over 6,700 people, who were a long way from the job market to find work they enjoy.
Our life-changing employment support
Part of a portfolio of programmes we manage on behalf of our boroughs, the Local London Work and Health Programme is transformational for people across our sub-region.
Around 75% of people who were economically inactive prior to joining the programme, between its launch in 2016 and December 2023, have been supported into work or are now job-ready and actively seeking employment.
An indication of the current economic climate, the programme remains in high demand across our nine member boroughs to provide circumstance-changing help to those facing the greatest challenges.
One of these many people is Javid whose dyslexia may have contributed to his difficulties getting interviews (story below) who said “Without the support of the programme I do not believe that I would have been successful in getting back into the retail sector, a sector I love working in.”
Read Javid’s story:
Javid had been working for the same high street retailer for 18 years. The pandemic struck and he was made redundant in 2020. Javid has Dyslexia, and despite his experience and efforts for three years, his applications were not getting him interviews.
Javid joined the Local London Work and Health Programme delivered by Maximus UK in spring 2023. His dedicated keyworker began by setting out a detailed action plan with Javid to get him back into work. This included meeting at Maximus’s offices almost daily for coaching on how to approach the job market, which Javid appreciated.
Very eager to find work, Javid remained positive in the face of setbacks and was encouraged and supported by his key worker. Javid’s keyworker referred him onto relevant fully funded courses to help him gain skills, confidence and find work.
As well as gaining confidence form meeting other people on these courses, Javid was paired with another person on the programme and together they supported each other to improve their English skills and apply for jobs. This had a really positive impact on Javid’s self-esteem and built up his self-belief that he would find employment again.
To complement his new skills and regained confidence, Javid’s keyworker supported him to prepare for interviews, taking into account everything from how he dressed and presented himself, to holding mock interviews to practice answering in those situations. His keyworker even sat in on one of his real interviews to give him the confidence he needed.
Although it took a couple of attempts, the breakthrough finally came. Javid was offered a position in an internationally renown household retailer based in Stratford, London.
Javid said “Without the support of the programme and this positive approach, I do not believe that I would have been successful in getting back into the retail sector, a sector I love working in.”
Find out more
- Find out more: maximusuk.co.uk/london
- Read more news about our Work and Health Programme
Funded by The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), and European Social Fund (ESF) up to December 2023, the Local London Work and Health Programme provides up to 21 months support for people who have long-term health conditions and/or disabilities or have been unemployed for 24 months or more.
We work with Maximus to help more people get into and retain good jobs, and manage the programme on behalf of our boroughs: Barking and Dagenham, Bexley, Bromley, Enfield, Greenwich, Havering, Newham, Redbridge and Waltham Forest.