Work. Live. Leicestershire

That’s all folks! The Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) project are putting out our last social media post today.

The WiLL project’s last official day of existence is June 30, so it’s time to come off social media and wrap up our closure.

We want to thank all of the participants, staff, partners, stakeholders and everyone who has supported us over the last four years.

The local service guides and shared learning, from our final reports, ‘WiLL’ still be available. Find them here: https://bit.ly/44uJ9Lg.

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Vista RCC Leicestershire & Rutland Voluntary Action LeicesterShire WEA Leicester and Leicestershire Access All Areas Training CIC B-Inspired Leicestershire County Council Oadby & Wigston Borough Council Harborough District Council Charnwood Borough Council Melton Borough Council This Is NWLeics Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council Helping Hands Advice Centre The Well Kibworth Pathways Centre The Marlene Reid Centre

The Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) project couldn’t finish without paying a final visit to The Well Kibworth!

We can’t speak highly enough of The Well Kibworth and its purpose as a community venue, supporting the residents of Kibworth and beyond.

And The Well ‘WiLL’ be a place where our local service guides are now available. Make sure that you pop in and see them soon!

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The Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) project’s local service guides and reports are at the Harborough Innovation Centre.

These were personally delivered by Bev, from the WiLL project and a familiar face in and around Market Harborough.

It’s great to share this local knowledge with Harborough District Council. Access the digital versions here: https://bit.ly/44uJ9Lg.

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The Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) project nipped over to Hinckley in giving out ‘Goodbye and Good Luck’ local service guides.

Craig, from the WiLL project, arrived with a bagful of our guides and evaluation reports, for the general public and local authority.

See the pictures to find out where the printed copies are now available, but digital versions are here: https://bit.ly/44uJ9Lg.

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Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council Hinckley Library Pathways Centre Atkins Building

It’s pastures new for the Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) project so that these local service guides can go further!

Jo, an administrator for the WiLL project, visited Blaby Library, Cosby Community Library and Countesthorpe Village Center and Library.

She dropped off guides in and around her community, so that local people can learn more about the support services available.

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It’s time for the Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) project to deliver our ‘Goodbye and Good Luck’ local service guides!

Fayaz, a keyworker for the WiLL project, was behind the wheel to drop off our guides and final evaluation reports around Leicestershire.

We’ve been to Loughborough, Melton Mowbray, Oadby and Wigston to spread the word about our guides. And there’s more to come!

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Charnwood Borough Council Loughborough Library John Storer Charnwood Careershublc Melton Borough Council Access All Areas Training CIC Melton Library Wigston Library Oadby & Wigston Borough Council Helping Hands Advice Centre Oadby Library

It was a clean-up mission for the Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) project when we visited Melton Country Park.

To show our support for the environment, we went along to pick up litter all around the park, on a muddy morning in March of last year.

Celebrating a job well done, our team went to the Melton Country Park Cafe & Visitor Centre for cake and coffee. Good memories!

The Friends of Melton Country Park The National Lottery Community Fund

Guiding economically inactive people towards employment was a key objective for the Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) project.

The economically inactive population are not classed as employed or unemployed and some are far removed from the work-force.

Targets for this were surpassed by the WiLL project (by 60) of helping EI participants into employment, self-employment and job search.

There is more information about economic inactivity in our evaluation reports. Access them here: https://bit.ly/44uJ9Lg.

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It took more than just a partnership-focussed approach to widen the Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) project’s reach.

Link building didn’t conclude when the project was formed, it carried on through staff forming relationships with other support services.

This community development only benefitted people who needed our help. Read our Good Practice Guide here: https://bit.ly/44uJ9Lg.

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It’s the Great Big Green Week once again! Show your support by getting involved with events and activities near you.

The Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) project are big supporters of sustainability, climate change, nature and themes surrounding them.

There are dates for your calendar happening all over Leicestershire. Type in a location to discover them here: https://shorturl.at/abdz7.

The Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) project’s legacy still exists online with our local service guides and evaluation reports.

We ‘WiLL’ live on through the learning shared in our signposting and good practice guides, along with a needs and solutions report.

They sit on a webpage of the organisation that hosted and managed the WiLL project, Vista. Find them here: https://bit.ly/44uJ9Lg.

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The Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) project’s presence certainly could be felt at the Market Harborough Carnival.

We sponsored the 2022 Market Harborough Carnival 10k Run last year, providing the race bibs and goodie bags for 449 competitors.

The 2023 10k run has 500 runners taking part. See them off at the Market Harborough Showground on Saturday (June 10, at 10am).

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The Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) project did so much more than just guide our participants into employment.

The WiLL project also worked with them on other aspects such as their confidence, health, wellbeing, life skills and financial management.

We took this approach when supporting over 1,000 participants in Leicestershire. Read our final reports here: https://bit.ly/44uJ9Lg.

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Understanding the difference between rural areas helped the Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) project to tackle barriers.

The county can be incredibly diverse, in its rural communities, and some residents are among the most disconnected from employment.

Local knowledge allowed us to reach these people and offer support. Find our Needs and Solutions report here: https://bit.ly/44uJ9Lg.

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Find your next employment opportunity at the Lutterworth Job Fair later this week.

The bi-monthly event, staged by Harborough District Council, is at the Wycliffe Rooms, in Lutterworth, on Friday (June 9, 1pm to 3pm).

A host of employers are planning to recruit there, but there is room for more. Email [email protected] to book a place.

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Get one of these if you need support! The Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) project have printed ‘Goodbye and Good Luck’ guides.

These guides cover Oadby, Wigston, Market Harborough, Lutterworth, Hinckley, Coalville, Loughborough and Melton Mowbray.

They contain information about local services available in those areas. Find digital versions of the guides here: https://bit.ly/44uJ9Lg.

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Three months have now passed since the Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) project celebrated its legacy with a learning event.

That took us to the St Martins House Conference Centre, in Leicester, for a top tips workshop, model making and ‘hackathon.’

We have since shared learning, from the WiLL project’s journey, in two published reports. Access them here: https://bit.ly/44uJ9Lg.

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The Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) project can still be here to help - despite our programme now coming to an end.

Project closure lies ahead, for us, on Friday June 30, so we are signposting towards further support that’s available in Leicestershire.

We have produced local service guides, with links to the organisations listed. Find and download them here: https://bit.ly/44uJ9Lg.

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Would you like to talk about volunteering? This event is to recruit volunteers and explain their value to local organisations.

Voluntary Action LeicesterShire (VAL) are at John Storer House - Meetings and Events Services, on Friday June 9 (10.30am-12.30pm).

Equally, VAL would like to meet with local employers, who want utilise the voluntary sector. Contact VAL or see them on the day.

This is the last bank holiday of the Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) project’s existence.

We are heading for project closure, which concludes on June 30, the last day before Work Live Leicestershire ceases to be.

The WiLL project have produced local service and Good Practice guides. Find and download them here: https://bit.ly/44uJ9Lg.

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Are you interested in volunteering? Attend this online event and learn how you can get involved in your local community.

Voluntary Action LeicesterShire (VAL) have a host of opportunities and are hosting a virtual session, on Thursday June 8 (10.30am-12.30pm).

Being a volunteer can boost your confidence, build experience and enhance social skills. Book now here: https://tinyurl.com/58h9mx3j.

Increasing brand awareness was how the Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) project became more well-known.

Physical advertising helped to raise the profile of the WiLL project, all around Leicestershire, and enticed people to learn more about us.

We worked with Global, Adverta and Alight Media to reach new audiences. Find our Good Practice Guide here: https://rb.gy/ip1bb.

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Listening to our participants and elaborating on their needs led to actions for the Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) project.

Setting out a person’s employment goals and adapting support, to meet these requirements, was what our keyworkers did best.

The WiLL project’s targets were more than just numbers, with our team going above and beyond for the people that we worked with.

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Funders are to meet with Leicestershire-based organisations from the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sectors.

Voluntary Action LeicesterShire (VAL) are staging the event, at the Oadby Trinity Methodist Church, on Wednesday June 28.

Seven funders are confirmed to be in attendance. Tickets can be booked online through this link: https://rb.gy/udd0m.

The National Lottery Community Fund Oadby & Wigston Borough Council Oadby Town Centre

Preparing our participants for employment was a primary focus of the Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) project.

This was achieved through careers advice, job search support, training and one-to-one mentoring, from a team of keyworkers.

The WiLL project worked with over 1,000 unemployed people, living in rural Leicestershire, over a four-year period. We made a difference.

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The Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) project was made up of a partner network that widened our scope of employment support.

This included self-employment (CASE), training (WEA Leicester and Leicestershire), and volunteering (Voluntary Action LeicesterShire).

Our keyworkers were from Vista, B-Inspired and Access All Areas Training CIC. The RCC Leicestershire & Rutland managed outreach.

This meant that we could offer unemployed people, living in rural Leicestershire, a far more expansive programme of service.

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The importance of a collaborative approach was never more evident than when a pandemic led to national restrictions.

During ‘stay at home’ orders, the Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) project continued to deliver support and took on new participants.

This was a challenge to do, initially, through mainly phone and video calls, but we got there and it, eventually, became second nature!

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Being insights-led and data-driven helped the Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) project to achieve its aims.

The WiLL project continually adapted its processes to suit demand and give our team and participants the support that they needed.

This allowed the programme to be tailored towards each individual, who could call upon a service that best suited their requirements.

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A rising amount of people becoming economically inactive was a focus for the Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) project.

Research for our evaluation found that over 565,000 people have become economically inactive, in the UK, since the pandemic.

The WiLL project have worked with 277 of them, with 134 going into employment and self-employment and 143 entering job search.

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Connecting people within local communities to service providers in their area was a strength of the Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) project.

A partner network made up the WiLL project, but our keyworkers worked hard to establish further local links and knowledge.

For project closure, we have produced local service guides, along with evaluation reports. Download them here: https://bit.ly/44uJ9Lg.

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