Homeless and education charity Beyond Food Foundation has teamed up with Barclays to support 66 vulnerable and disadvantaged Londoners into full time employment over the course of two years.
The partnership will form a key part of Barclays’ Connect with Work, an employability programme that provides people facing barriers to work with job-ready skills – the skills that employers are looking for – and connects them to the businesses that are recruiting, creating a real and supported pathway into work.
With support and funding from Barclays’ Connect with Work, Beyond Food will expand its efforts to use food as a catalyst to break the cycle of homelessness and begin its winter outreach programme to hostels, job centres, prisons, housing associations and charity partners. Using each organisation’s unique networks and relationships, together, Barclays and Beyond Food aim to build referrals and find vulnerable and disadvantaged adults who have experienced, or been at risk of, homelessness, that might benefit from support – support that includes training on nutrition and basic cooking skills.
Since launching eight years ago, Beyond Food has trained hundreds of apprentices into jobs and given thousands of homeless people new skills; the charity is currently training 10 apprentices at its Brigade Bar + Kitchen.
Simon Boyle, chef founder of Brigade and Beyond Food commented: “We want to inspire futures beyond homelessness, and this is our most ambitious year yet. With this amazing support from Barclays’ Connect with Work, we will be reaching out to more people than ever before, providing skills development, training and, ultimately, full time employment to disadvantaged adults across the capital.”
Phil Richardson, Industry Director, Hospitality and Leisure, at Barclays commented: “The people that we work with have often lost their connection to the workplace and through the Connect with Work programme we can help to put them in contact with potential employers. We’re encouraged with the impact the programme has made so far, placing thousands of people into work, and we look forward to working with Beyond Food to scale the programme’s reach in London.”
