- Partnership aims to support over 35s in getting back into the workplace
- 12-24 year olds to be given support and skills to improve employability
15th April 2011: Totaljobs.com, a leading jobs website, today announces an innovative partnership with Championship Football Club, Queens Park Rangers (QPR), and their charitable arm, QPR in the Community Trust. The partnership will be the largest corporate sponsorship deal that the community trust has seen with £25k of charitable funding to be donated over the next year.
The partnership will seek to help 12-24 year olds and over-35’s in the local West London area improve their employability and job prospects. As a leading source of insight into the jobs market, the project will see the skills of Totaljobs.com own employees matched with the local experience of QPR Community Trust members to boost the skills and confidence of local job seekers in CV writing, job hunting and interview techniques.
Totaljobs.com will provide support by volunteering staff time for the following projects established by QPR Community Trust:
- Kickz Programme: A national programme aimed at engaging with young people living in disadvantaged communities who may otherwise be difficult to reach. Its vision is ‘to target some of the most disadvantaged areas of the country in order to create safer, stronger, more respectful communities through the development of young peoples’ potential’.
- Inspire Football Project: A joint campaign with Hammersmith and Fulham Council’s School Sports Partnership (SSP) aimed at attracting and motivating young people who are failing at school to achieve more in terms of educational results and employment.
- QPR College based Academy Programme: Working with local colleges to provide a combination of work-based learning and academic study, alongside a football programme, competing in the English College Leagues, leading to apprenticeships, NVQ’s and Coaching Awards.
- Adult Sports & Education project – Education based social inclusion project targeting the over-35 age group, leading to life skills, positive healthy lifestyles and accredited courses, using football and other sports as a tool for engagement.
John Salt, Director, Totaljobs.com: “This is a really exciting partnership for Totaljobs.com, one which we are well placed to offer the right knowledge and advice to groups that are difficult to reach at a local level. We see this as important step in the Government’s wider Big Society agenda in which private business need to support charities and the third sector to deliver key life skills to those of disadvantaged backgrounds.”
John continues: “The state of the current jobs market means that this source of advice and support is needed for these hard-to-reach groups more than ever. By working with QPR, we have the routes to engage with them and by utilising our workforce, can provide the right guidance and help to get these demographics back to work.”
Andy Evans, QPR’s Community Trust CEO: “Our job is to inspire change in the communities in which we operate. As a responsible Football Club in London, it is our job to equip socially excluded groups with the right skills and the partnership with Totaljobs.com will ensure that the correct support is given to these groups. We see this unique partnership as an example of how other private and third sector organisations can work together for the greater good.”
In addition to the partnership agreement, Totaljobs.com staff will take part in the ‘Tiger Feet’ fundraising walk from QPR’s Loftus Road stadium to Watford’s Vicarage Road. The walk on April 30th will be in aid of the Tiger Cubs – disability and Downs Syndrome team supported by QPR’s Community Trust.