Forum House - helping local people

Story: Lisa Harrison

Forum House, located at the bottom of Spital Hill close to the junction with The Wicker, provides employment and training resources for people who live in the Burngreave area. The staff there can assist local residents in finding training opportunities or employment whether they are currently employed or not; the only criteria is that all people who use the service must live in this area.

Forum House contains a number of different organisations who work in partnership with each other to help people using the resources to get the most out of their experience. Each of these organisations offers a unique service to local people, depending on their individual needs and abilities.

All services are provided through BNDfC funding, and the building itself acts as New Deal’s hub for skills, employment and enterprise.

Forum House held an open day on Wednesday 13th February 2008 at which a number of employers and training providers were represented. The event was extremely well-attended, with around 400 people visiting the centre at some point during the course of the day.

The next edition of the Burngreave Messenger will include a full report from the open day, complete with photographs and quotes from those who attended. In the meantime, we’ve compiled a list of the organisations represented within Forum House together with information about the services they offer.

Burngreave Opportunities (BOPPS)

Helping around 400 people per year to find employment, BOPPS offers individually tailored assistance in order to provide the most personal level of help possible to local people who would like to either find suitable employment, or just improve their skills to help them move up the career ladder. BOPPS works directly with local, citywide and national employers to create new opportunities for local people.

For further information about BOPPS, please visit: http://www.bndfc.co.uk/projects/burngreave-opportunities/

BIG – Make It Your Business

BiG offers a variety of services to help local people set up their own business. Providing a hub for budding entrepreneurs, BiG aims to encourage enterprise within the local community in order to promote local economic growth.

For further information about BiG, please visit: http://www.thebigwebsite.org.uk/

Burngreave Community Learning Campaign

The Burngreave Community Learning Campaign aims to help increase literacy within the local area and promote community-based learning. Their website is currently under construction, but will be launched in March 2008 and will be located at: http://learning.burngreave.net/

Meanwhile, for further information please visit:

http://www.bndfc.co.uk/projects/bclc/

Apprenticeships for All

Apprenticeships for All offers local people the unique opportunity to gain new skills and find an apprenticeship placement for all ages from 16 – 60. This opens up new avenues for potential employment for people who might otherwise have been excluded from taking an apprenticeship. By working in partnership with Sheffield City Council, Apprenticeships for All is able to offer a variety of different placement opportunities covering a range of skills.

For further information, please visit:

http://www.bndfc.co.uk/projects/apprenticeships-for-all/