2 out of CRP’s current 14 major programmes are funded by the EU, and we will continue delivering these until completion in 2018. We will carry on fundraising from a diverse range of sources to secure exciting project opportunities for our partners. If you have any queries about CRP and European funding, please do not hesitate to contact CRP’s Director Susannah Wilks.
CRP is looking for an outstanding individual for the maternity cover of our Employability Co-ordinator. In this role you will lead, develop and manage CRP’s employment programmes, which work closely with businesses to achieve project outcomes. You will develop and maintain partnerships, establish and manage projects and programmes, line-manage a team of delivery staff, seek and secure new funding opportunities and ensure successful delivery.
CRP is a unique organisation to work for. To succeed in this role you will:
• have extensive experience in the employment and skills sector;
• have significant experience of successfully managing complex projects or programmes which bring together the private, public and voluntary sector;
• be able to quickly develop new partnerships and tailor your approach to different audiences;
• effectively lead a team;
• be able to spot and develop new opportunities.
Key details
• Application closing date: Monday 15th August 2016
• Interview date: Thursday 25th August 2016
• To apply: https://jobs.westminster.gov.uk/intranet/wd_portal.show_job?p_web_site_id=4511&p_web_page_id=271540&p_preview=Y•
For more information: contact Elizabeth Harris on eharris@westminster.gov.uk or 07875 765 751
The Freight TAILS kick-off meeting of European partners was hosted superbly by our partner City of Suceava, Romania on 27-28 June 2016. With over 120 organisations already involved in local Freight TAILS groups across Europe, this first transnational meeting focussed on how to attract, and work with a range of stakeholders all of whom have an interest in urban freight. Future transnational meetings will focus issues around urban freight and: data; integration; regulation and enforcement; voluntary behaviour; and procurement. Cross River Partnership members are welcome to participate in future Freight TAILS meetings. Please contact Charlotte Knell, Project Manager for more details: cknell1@westminster.gov.uk.
Ion Lungu Mayor of Suceava City welcomes Freight TAILS partners to the Phase 2 Kick off meeting 27-28 June 2016.
On 27 June BREYTNER Zero Emission Transport launched operations with two 19 tonne trucks in Rotterdam. The trucks are fully electric and will be re-charged using solar energy, making them a truly zero emission delivery option for urban distribution. “We view the air quality issue as a challenge, not as an obstacle. This position has made us successful and has helped us develop, together with our clients, this clean solution.” says Marie-José Baartmans, director at BREYTNER.
BREYTNER offer their services for business to business and business to consumer deliveries. In their hub concept a modular system of swap bodies is driven two or three at a time from a national/regional distribution centre to city boundaries or those of low emission zones. Here the sealed swap bodies are parked and driven into the inner city one by one by fully electric truck.
The FREVUE (Freight Electric Vehicles in Urban Europe) project is an urban e-mobility project supported by the European Commission. For further information please contact CRP’s FREVUE Co-ordinator, Tanja Dalle-Muenchmeyer, on tdmuenchmeyer@westminster.co.uk
The Into Work programme results are in, and 705 central London unemployed or economically inactive residents were supported into work since delivery started in June 2014. Of those, 31.5% were out of year for a year or more. Cross River Partnership commissioned and actively manages nine charities and community interest companies to deliver the programme, which provided tailored training and support then brokered candidates into job roles in a range of sectors including retail, hospitality, health & social care and facilities.
Into Work covered nine central London boroughs (Camden, City of London, Hackney, Islington, Kensington & Chelsea, Lambeth, Southwark, Wandsworth and Westminster). The programme will continue until September 2016 to help 75% of candidates sustain work for a six month period. Into Work is funded by the City of London Corporation.
Through the programme, delivery partner SR Employment and Training have worked with OCS to recruit twelve candidates from Lambeth, Southwark and Wandsworth for security and stewarding roles. Alex Obasto, the Events Recruitment Manager at OCS for the London region (pictured above) said: “The calibre of staff they provide and the speed with which they provide them has really, really impressed me. SR Employment has…shown a real interest in our requirements and to date have not brought forward any candidates that were below the standards we accept. Thank you SR for all your efforts, here’s to many more years of a fruitful relationship.”
If you have any questions, please do contact Elizabeth Harris, Cross River Partnership’s Employability Coordinator, on eharris@westminster.gov.uk.
Monika, a 25 -year-old Westminster resident, had been unemployed for almost a year due to health reasons before she was helped back into work by Cross River Partnership’s Recruit London initiative. Recruit London is delivered in partnership in the West End by Cross River Partnership, Westminster City Council, The Crown Estate, New West End Company, Capco Covent Garden and the Department for Work and Pensions.
Referred by a resident who also gained employment through the project, Monika attended interview technique sessions and role focused workshops with the NWEC Workplace Coordinator, Isabelle, to boost her confidence and enhance her employability skills.
NWEC Workplace Coordinator Isabelle was working on behalf of The Clubhouse, a prestigious business members club to help them recruit. She spotted that Monika would be a great fit for the business, and put her forward for interview with them. After her interview and a trial at their Mayfair branch, she was offered a role as Front of House Assistant, with a starting salary of £24,000 p/a.
New funding has been released which would enable Cross River Partnership to build on the success of our Recruit London initiative. The European Social Fund and Skills Funding Agency’s Sector Approaches aims to support skills development, job readiness and pre-apprenticeship training for unemployed groups in priority sectors.
Cross River Partnership plans to lead a funding application for Retail, Tourism and Hospitality in central and south London. Through the project we would provide a range of support and training to unemployed and economically inactive residents and work closely with employers to broker candidates into work and apprenticeships. If you would like to support our application or become part of it, please contact Employability Coordinator Elizabeth Harris on eharris@westminster.gov.uk.
If successful, we will support 499 people into work and 199 into apprenticeships, and help them to sustain in work for 26 weeks. Applications are due early July, and the successful applicant will be announced in September 16.
Cross River Partnership hosted the 10th Clean Air Better Business Steering Group last week to give an overview of the achievements from the Mayor’s Air Quality Fund round 1 programme and to introduce the initiation of the round 2 programme.
We appreciate the continued support and robust attendance of our member BIDs and local authority partners and look forward to working with you on the innovative and high impact projects planned.
A special thank you to Poppy Lyle from the Greater London Authority who attended as the Boroughs Projects and Programmes (BPP) – lead for the Clean Air Better Business programme. The overview given of the delivery and monitoring regime for this new scheme will set us in good stead to deliver a successful programme in round 2.
For information about the CRP’s Clean Air Better Business 2 – contact Uto Patrick
On 25-26 May 2016 FREVUE, together with two other European Commission flagship projects on electromobility, I-CVUE and ZeEUS, organised the 4th edition of the European Electromobility Stakeholder Forum in Brussels. With its cross-sectoral nature, the Forum is a unique European arena to share best practice and generate synergies across different electric transport modes.
This edition brought together over 200 representatives from government, industry, academia, and other stakeholders.
All the presentations from the different sessions are online now at: http://frevue.eu/events-home
Although the three projects demonstrate the viability of e-mobility and the way it makes our cities more sustainable, cleaner and quieter, fundamental challenges remain and many of these are shared among the different electromobility modes. In her opening words, Magda Kopczynska, Director for Innovative and Sustainable Mobility at the European Commission stressed “[…] the need to look at transport in a systemic way: We cannot address any of the challenges we face with one solution or one concept only. The great transport disruption will not be autonomous vehicles, but rather autonomous, electric and shared vehicles”.
Following this introduction, over 50 speakers shared their experiences, results achieved so far and remaining challenges. Key hurdles include the standardisation of charging infrastructure as well as current regulatory frameworks that can significantly slow down the electrification of transport modes. On the other hand, exciting opportunities and synergies between the modes were discussed, such as urban design and multimodal and interoperable charging infrastructure.
“Electrification of transport is a key enabler for imagining new concepts – like building an indoor bus stop where passengers’ shopping would be delivered by electric freight to enhance passenger’s experience. This approach confirms that the prominent need for the Forum to exist and to offer great cross-sectoral exchanges”, highlighted Ulf Gustafsson from Volvo.
The FREVUE (Freight Electric Vehicles in Urban Europe) project is an urban e-mobility project supported by the European Commission.
For further information please contact CRP’s FREVUE Co-ordinator, Tanja Dalle-Muenchmeyer, on tdmuenchmeyer@westminster.co.uk
http://frevue.eu/
CRP’s Specialist Workplace Coordinator, who supports people with disabilities and chronic health conditions as part of the Recruit London initiative, recently worked with the Regent Street Association to place 10 candidates as paid volunteers for the Gumball 3000 event. The Regent Street association needed 20 people with a background in customer service to be trained as staffers for the event, and the Recruit London Specialist Workplace Coordinator was able to refer 10 unemployed candidates to this opportunity, all of whom were selected.
Each year Gumball 3000 organises a luxury automotive rally in which 100 of the world’s most spectacular supercars drive 3000 miles in seven days. They host public and private events in each city they pass through. On May Day, Monday 2nd May 2016, Gumball 3000 returned to Regent Street and attracted well over 100,000 people.
Recruit London’s candidates assisted on the set up and breakdown of information points, lifting and carrying benches and plants to position on the streets, cable tying benches together, installing event branding on barriers using cable ties and cable cutters, and leafleting from information points on and around Regent Street. Mainly, they assisted with ensuring that visitors from all over the world were made to feel welcome, were on hand to deal with queries and helping with giving directions.
All candidates have increased confidence after the event. One candidate Daniela said “I really enjoyed myself yesterday at the Gumball 3000. It helped my confidence”. The Specialist Workplace Coordinator has continued to help them into work, and five now have interviews for paid opportunities!
Chrissie from the Regent Street Association said: “the referrals were great and all worked very hard (despite the rain)”!
Candidate Kiefer said: “I would not have known about it if I had not been asked to work. It was such a good day. We worked really hard, but it didn’t feel like work”.
For more information, please contact: Sylvia-Makole Kankasa – Specialist Workplace Coordinator, 07931 546 865, skankasa@westminster.gov.uk
Pictured: Recruit London’s Nikki Gjergji with candidates at the event
