A virtual outreach initiative which has helped scores of North East women get new jobs during the pandemic is set to carry on thanks to support from Newcastle Building Society.
Smart Works Newcastle aims to help women get back into work, gain financial independence and transform their lives by providing free interview clothing and coaching.
It has helped more than 400 women around the region since its launch three years ago, with around two-thirds of them going on to succeed at a job interview within a month of receiving the charity’s support.
The organisation had to suspend face-to-face sessions at its city centre office last spring, but quickly developed a virtual service, offering coaching by telephone or over Zoom, while sending interview outfits in the post.
Having helped more than 120 women over the last year, Smart Works had been looking at how it to sustain the service alongside its regular personal appointments, which are set to recommence this month.
Now, thanks to a £2,688 grant from Newcastle Building Society, it has been able to commit to making it a permanent service and to further extending its reach into County Durham and Northumberland.
The funding is being provided through the Newcastle Building Society Community Fund at the Community Foundation, which offers grants to charities and community groups located in or around the communities served by the Society’s branch network.
Smart Works Newcastle is currently looking to recruit more volunteers to help meet the growing demand for its services, with training that has been funded by the Newcastle Building Society grant being provided to help them develop and enhance the digital and personal skills they need to support its work.
Nathalie Bouleau Chabot, business development lead at Smart Works Newcastle, says: “While our face-to-face service works really well, it can sometimes be difficult for women who live in rural communities, or who have work or childcare commitments to get all the way into Newcastle for their appointments.
“Making the service available online has allowed us to get around these barriers and to support people living across communities that we’d not previously been able to reach.
“The positive impact on our virtual service users has been clear to see right through the year, and with the economy beginning to open up, we know there’s going to be even greater demand for our help in the coming months.”
Pauline Baldwin, manager at Newcastle Building Society’s flagship Northumberland Street branch, added: “Smart Works Newcastle does a brilliant job in giving dozens of local women the chance to get back into the workplace, realise more of their potential and improve their and their families’ lives.
“The creativity and determination the team has shown to keep providing this important service during the most difficult of times is extremely impressive, and their positive impact in communities right across the region makes them more than deserving of our support.”
