Jobs for the Future
Circle received funding for Labour’s Future Job Fund initiative, working on a joint bid with the National Housing Federation and Groundwork. The project gives young unemployed people an opportunity to work at Circle as paid employees for six months and gain work experience and accredited training. In phase one 35 young people were placed in a variety of roles across the Group and a further 70 young people are being recruited for phase two. This has proved to be a valuable asset to the business as well as helping to train the housing stars of the future.
Tarik Hamis (left) Tarik Hamis, 23, joined Circle as a communications assistant in the Group Communications team as part of the Future Jobs Fund programme. After completing four GCSEs in French, Maths, Science and IT, Tarik left school at 16 to pursue his interests in IT and successfully completed an (G)NVQ in Intermediate ICT.
When he was 18, Tarik experienced some family problems and left his family home to live with friends. For the next few years Tarik worked in various sales and retail roles; however, at the beginning of 2009 the recession hit Tarik's employer hard, and he suddenly found himself jobless and homeless.
After six months of sofa surfing and staying with friends, Tarik visited youth homeless charity Alone in London, part of Circle, who referred Tarik to the YMCA, where he was offered a place to stay. While living at the YMCA, Tarik pursed his interest in Business and began studying a Business Management course at the City and Islington College.
Unemployed for nine months, Tarik was committed to finding a job, and found out about the Future Jobs Fund placement at Circle from his Job Centre Advisor and applied. “I think the Future Jobs Fund is a great idea to get young people into employment. This placement will give me a chance to learn new skills and gain new experience that will hopefully lead to opportunities in a similar role.”
05/10/10 17:46
Careers
Circle offers great benefits and plenty of opportunity for learning and development. And we're currently recruiting >
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Awards
Old Ford Housing Association has won a prestigious national Gold Award for Excellence. Old Ford won the Building Cohesive Communities category of the awards which recognise achievements and excellence in the social housing sector.
