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Holistic Work Placements

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Embrace has provided holistic work placement schemes now since 2000 and they are at the core of our operations. We have realised that many young adults need practical experiences in order to gain skills and abilities. Combining job skills training with communication and personal development workshops during their work placements enhances the job outcomes.

 

Embrace always prepares students who come to us in order to assess them and to fi ll gaps in their provision prior to coming to us in order to get them ready for their work experience. During the work placement the students always receive further training (cultural/ linguistic preparation) and a presentation about their LifeDream concludes their stay. This is also the focus of their work placement because it makes them think what they want to do with their professional life and whether their chosen path is what they wish to do for the foreseeable future.

Embrace provides work placements for students in Initial Vocational Training (IVT) from the UK and from abroad, job seekers from the UK and from abroad and also for those who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). We have a success rate of people taking up employment or further/ higher education of around 65 - 75% of participants from the different areas. Embrace hosts around 60 – 80 students from Europe for work placements in London each year and we also send around 50 – 80 initial vocational training (IVT) students abroad.We work with over 50 different placement providers in London, from non-profi t grass roots to commercial enterprises.

 

 
Martin J.P. Kowalewski - My Story

First at all I would like to introduce myself, I’m Martin Jens Paul Kowalewski. I’m 24 years old and I live in London since 2006. I was a former placement student at Embrace in one of the “Leonardo daVinci Lifelong Learning Programmes”. Before I come to London I was unemployed for nearly one year after I left my apprenticeship as a carpenter. I didn’t had any opportunity in Germany for a good job or a normal lifestyle like everyone else with job because I was not very motivated to do anything useful with my life. I was quite frustrated with my life and highly aggressive which brought me several times in front of a judge and almost into jail.

I got the opportunity to go for 3 month to England/ London and I took this chance. In that 3 month I change a lot, because I got more self-confidence, more believe in myself and learned to love myself. After the three month Embrace gave me the opportunity to come back to London and work for their Social Enterprise as a craftsman. I also took this great chance for myself. Now I work with Embrace for nearly 3 years, I worked as craftsmen at building sites and till last year I work as Placement Supervisor and Project Assistant for different projects. All in all I really like it here, I love my job, which never gets bored. For my future I hope to improve my income money wise, stay together with my magnificent Girlfriend and become better and better in my job so I can help more and more people. I also would like to become social education worker; I think that with the right qualifications I can help many young people with all kinds of backgrounds.

 

 


Hard Outcomes Soft Outcomes
  • Practical skills gained during placements which compliment and/or add value to their vocational training (including work references, Euro Pass)
  • Orientation skills (e.g. fi nding your way, using public transport, understanding road signs) in a foreign environment
  • Individual career plans through workshops and one-to-one sessions based on our LifeDream project
  • Developed Good Practice in Hosting IVT Students from supported learning (mild – severe learning disabilities)
  • Establishment of solid and successful partnerships with which we can continue to off er such programmes in the future
  • Embrace Social Enterprises Ltd (5941035) was created in October 2007 to facilitate placements within the construction industry
  • Case Studies from individual participant
  • Enhanced positive self-image, confidence, self-respect
  • Fostering mobility: to live away from home and the usual environment
  • Problem solving and enhanced communication skills
  • Good understanding of their own potential and life opportunities
  • Increased acceptance of disability when negative self-image was an obstacle to the young person
  • More positive and focused outlook to the future
  • Effective communication and cooperation in an unknown environment


 
My Story

“I am a young woman, born in 1986 in Somalia, I entered the UK 3 years ago to save my life from the Civil War in my Home country. I graduated from High School in Somalia and had no work experience at all. It was very difficult for me on arrival to the UK, but with the help of Social Services I understood the UK system better. I was very happy to have escaped the war and decided to study and get an interesting and well paid job. To improve my English I went to college part-time. The language barrier was one of my biggest problems, so I could not do any work placements, but I was extremely concerned about fi nishing my situation of unemployment as soon as possible, improving my language and study Pharmacy.

With the help of Embrace I did a 3 months placement at Fieldwork International Ltd as Administration Assistant. I helped the project workers with admin, fi ling and answering phone calls. The Life Dreams project during the time at Embrace helped me to work on my goal to study pharmacology and to be strong and independent from inside. Now I am back to college doing a course in pharmaceutical terminology. My aspirations are to go to university.”