About the Employability Programme
Dublin Simon Community (DSC) is committed to supporting people on their journey out of homelessness. In 2015 DSC commenced employability initiative – Community Employment Engagement (CE Engagement) programme for those affected by homelessness. The goal of CE Engagement programme is to help people move towards long term sustainable employment or education. The programme consists of supported work placements in different DSC departments i.e.: Warehouse Assistant, Retail Assistant, Support Workers, Grounds Keeper/Gardener, Maintenance, Chef’s assistant and Administration roles in Finance and Fundraising. Moreover we provide individually tailored support and career guidance, personal development training, health & safety training and various external training courses.
Our aim is to create sustainable employability pathways outside of Dublin Simon Community by working with companies to create meaningful, short-term work placements.
Your company can make a real direct difference by providing a short term work placement. You are helping those affected by homelessness gain confidence and psychologically prepare for a return to mainstream employment.
How it Works
Pre-placement
- Potential participant takes part in a work placement preparation plan.
- An introductory meeting between the potential participant, a representative from your company and Dublin Simon Community is arranged
Duration
- A placement of up to 19.5 hours per week for an agreed number of weeks, allows the participant to gain appropriate experience.
Structure
- Work placements should consist of meaningful work with a role description and learning outcomes.
- Participant is treated like a new employee and is expected to comply with your company’s work practices.
- We recommend assigning a mentor or ‘buddy’ who can offer support and mentoring during the placement.
- Participant is contacted daily by a Dublin Simon Community staff member to check her/his progress.
Benefits to Your Company
- Enhanced reputation as a socially responsible company within the community.
- Develop the training, mentoring and supervisory skills of employees who induct, train and supervise people participating in the work placements.
- Improved staff morale – employees feel the reward of making a real difference in someone’s life, positively influencing staff retention and reducing absenteeism.
- Increased diversity in the workplace.
- Cost-effective recruitment and training with the option to recruit through the programme.
How We Support You
- The placement operates similarly to an employee recruitment process. You will have the opportunity to review the candidate’s application and meet with the candidate before agreeing to proceed with the placement.
- We are committed to providing support to companies providing employment placements to our participants. The candidates we put forward to you have been assessed by our team of qualified staff, and have been deemed suitable for a short-term placement.
- Your contact on the Community Employment Engagement Team will be there to support you throughout the process.
- A Dublin Simon Community staff member is assigned to the participant to support them and links in on a daily basis during the placement.
FAQ
Q. I am interested in organising a placement, how do I go about it?
A. The first step is to get in touch with our CE Engagement Team. We have ready candidates in a number of areas which may be suitable to your company.
Q. Is the Employability Placement a paid placement?
A. No, participants on the employability placement continue to receive their weekly allowance fully funded by DEASP.
Q. The placement is almost over, and I have a suitable full-time position for your participant, can I offer them employment?
A. Whilst there is no expectation of employment at the end of the placement, you are welcome to make an offer of a position.
For more information please contact Cleo or Joanna at CE_Engagement@dubsimon.ie
By supporting Dublin Simon Community, your company will demonstrate in a very practical way that you and your staff care about homelessness and that you and your staff are prepared to do something about it.
If you would like to hear more about our involvement opportunities please do not hesitate to contact the team on the details below. Whatever the size of your organisation or the level of commitment you can give, we can work together and make a difference to people experiencing homelessness.