The Community Allowance would create new jobs by enabling community organisations to pay local unemployed people to do part time, sessional or short-term work that strengthens their community.The unemployed person would be able to keep their earnings on top of benefits, making work pay and providing a stepping stone to employment.
The Community Allowance
- Is a package of training, work and personal support delivered very locally by trusted community organisations, with strong track records of working with unemployed people.
- Gets people back into work, gaining experience and employability in a supportive environment.
- Enables community organisations to develop local solutions and jobs which directly improve and regenerate their communities.
Participants initially only works a few hours a week, so remains on benefits and keeps any extra income they receive as a result of working. The focus is on gradually increasing the hours they work to enable them to build up their work experience and deal with issues as they arise. At the same time, individual development plans enable the Community Allowance Advisor to work with the partipants, offering targeted training and support to overcome barriers to employment.
All Community Allowance jobs are developed by the voluntary and community sector. They provides a supportive environment for a return to working life and a wide range of interesting and rewarding job opportunities - where participants are able to see the real difference their work - makes not only to them and their family but the community in which they live
We are in discussions with a number of Welfare to Work Providers to include the Community Allowance model in their Work Programme delivery – so that Welfare to Work Providers can contract with local community based organisations to deliver the Community Allowance – creating local jobs and community based services as an integrated part of Welfare to Work delivery.
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