Published on:
19
March 2004
A lifeline has been thrown to people living with drug and alcohol problems in the Central Belt to equip them with key skills to get back into work.
A grant for almost £45,000 has been awarded to Forth Dimension, a local community rehabilitation project in Forth Valley, by the New Opportunities Fund on Tuesday 16 March 2004, to start its 'Fit for Employment' scheme.
The funding will enable the project to employ two workers. One post will co-ordinate and organise a series of two-week intensive courses for almost 100 people in the Forth Valley area who have suffered from substance misuse problems and are keen to get back into employment. The second post will develop workplace placements to provide a bridge from treatment and rehabilitation services into generic services such as education, training and employment.
The scheme will provide former addicts or those currently participating in a rehabilitation programme with the chance to prepare for a steady job and to help them stay off drugs for good.
The two posts - a Senior Development Officer and an Employability Progression Worker -will be responsible for helping clients to become 'fit for employment' by providing them with key skills that will enable them to smoothly transfer into the workplace.
Forth Dimension will run the programme over an 18-month period at venues across the Forth Valley area.
The three local councils governing the Forth Valley area, Clackmannanshire, Stirling and Falkirk, have also contributed a further £50,000 to the Fit For Employment Project, to ensure that as many people as possible benefit from the programme.
Gordon Coster - Chair of the Employability Sub-Group said: "This is an extremely worthwhile project that will help many people who have experienced drug misuse to get back into the employment market. Some of our clients find it difficult to deal with work situations because they have not accessed the employment market for some time.
"These intensive courses will enable clients to be trained and suitably equipped with the right skills to get back to work and off drugs."
The New Opportunities Fund is a Lottery Distributor created in 1998 to award grants to education, health and environment projects throughout the UK. Many of our grant programmes focus particularly on those in society who are most disadvantaged.