New Orkney Employability Hub opens its doors

The Hub – for Learning, Skills and Work officially opened its doors in Kirkwall’s Albert Street on Tuesday 28 February 2023.

Cutting the ribbon was Jack Woods, one of the supported user group members who has been instrumental to the formation of the new partnership space, which will provide a key base to support people on their employment journey.

Jack, 21, from Orphir, is being supported by Skills Development Scotland and the Local Employability Partnership and is currently enjoying work experience with the Council.

Through working with Stuart Prestwell, OIC Employability Co-ordinator, Jack became involved in the supported group of young people helping to design and develop The Hub.

“The most satisfying part has been working with the group; sharing humour with other people and getting to be yourself among other people,” Jack said.

The space has been funded and designed jointly by Skills Development Scotland and the Local Employability Partnership (LEP) to create an area where everyone of all ages and abilities feel welcome and can access any of the services provided by the range of employability partners working within the Orkney community.

The opening of The Hub is seen as a symbol of how effective working in collaboration can be, as the Council’s Service Manager Community Learning and Development, Kerry Spence, explained: “With the introduction of No One Left Behind in 2018, CLD took over responsibility for employability support with the Council in 2020 and along with SDS we merged various other partnership groups into a streamlined partnership to ensure a co-ordinated and effective response to employability support requirements in Orkney through our LEP.

“There is no better example of that partnership work and determination than The Hub. This was born out of innovation, drive, ambition and resilience to make something good happen.

“It is the intent of all involved that The Hub will be a central space that will provide opportunities for co-working, collaborative projects to meet the needs of the people we work with, local community and the local economy.”

The space will allow resources and expertise to be shared, while allowing individuals to access holistic support from a central place, rather than going from service to service which can lead to people not getting the support they need.

SDS Team Leader (Orkney), Kerri Liddle, added: “The LEP wanted to gain the insight and views of the local community to ensure that we were meeting the needs of the people who will require employability services now and into the future. That is why I must give a very special mention to the employability service users group who are the real A-Team within this project!

“The ask went out to these individuals who are already engaging with employability partners to come together in one space to support and develop the vision that the LEP partners had. Their involvement and contribution to this project has exceeded all our expectations.

“The decision-making skills, team work, creativity and innovation from this group of individuals was exceptional. Every task we asked them to undertake was seamless and effortless and they gave us the direction, insight and ideas to adapt our approach and widen our vision further. This is what true collaboration should look like.”

That would certainly seem to be the case as Nikki, 35, said: “It is just brilliant.”

With a glint in his eye in reference to being Orkney’s own A Team, Jeepstar, 21, added: “I’m B.A. Baracus from The A-Team – the one with the bling and muscles!”

Many of the supported group members have spent time working at the social enterprise Employability Orkney-Restart Orkney and actually heard about The Hub group from there. Ian Robertson is Employment Supervisor at Employability Orkney. He said: “We provide what we see as a stepping stone for people on their employment journey. They all have skills and abilities, we just need to give them the confidence to release them.

“We support them to learn new practical skills that are useful within the workplace, whether that be learning schedule planning, to manual handling and dealing with the public. Thanks to funding we are able to provide real living wage opportunities, with proper terms and conditions and contracts – however, our aim is to work closely with them on their strengths and weaknesses with the ultimate aim to secure employment for them within the community.

“Employer engagement is key and we continue to work alongside employers encouraging them to give folk a chance. I learn as much from the folk coming here as a professional as they do from us – and we need to remember that.

“We will certainly be making use of The Hub space and encouraging partnership working. It’s so important for people, many who have been isolated these past years, to have somewhere central to meet and develop their social skills.”

Bob Clouston Contractors and sub-contractors carried out the work to ensure The Hub opened on time and The Blide Trust provided the delicious buffet.

If you would like to get in touch with The Hub, please contact Employability.support@orkney.gov.uk