86% success rate in One Families’ Marks and Starts programme
13 out of 15 lone parents who completed One Families’ Marks and Starts getting back to work programme have been offered part-time seasonal contracts.
Marks & Start is funded by Marks & Spencer and offers participants a pre-employment training course, followed by a two-week work placement with one of the most respected high street names and on-going support from One Family towards achieving their goals.
Stuart Duffin, One Family Welfare to Work Manager explains ‘The lone parents who take part learn what they’ve got to offer employers and how to present themselves positively in applications and interviews. They find out about childcare and how they can make working a practical and beneficial option. It’s a great way for someone to get a confidence boost, a sense of direction and a new awareness of the help that’s on offer. The placement with Marks and Spencer proves to participants and future employers alike that lone parents can combine being a parent with paid work.’
The next programme of Marks and Start is due to start in 2012 – please contact sduffin@onefamily.ie if you’d like to know more.