Steps to Success
The Steps to Success project is designed to enable economically inactive or long term unemployed people from Black and Minority Ethnic communities in Leicester to find employment in the retail sector
The Background
People from Black and Minority Ethnic communities can face overwhelmingly
complex and multiple forms of disadvantage, which can create major barriers to
adult learning and employment. This can lead to individuals, and if locally
widespread, whole communities experiencing long term impoverishment and social
exclusion. Conventional means of assistance available through mainstream
agencies are often ineffective in such circumstances.
Steps to Success has therefore developed innovative methods to support people from BME communities in Leicester to develop their skills and to access new employment opportunities, particularly in the retail sector, within Leicester, which offer the possibility of future sustained employment and career progression.
 | Download Project Flyer - [PDF] |
The structure of Steps to Success
The programme has been designed to systematically develop the skills of
individuals whilst at the same time including measures to make participation
easier. The programme comprises of:
| Community based ESOL for Retail |
| Key skills support |
| NVQ level 1 and 2 retail training provision |
| Retail employment placements |
| Community based Personal Advisor support |
| Intensive one to one job search support |
| ‘Meet the Employer’ |
| Job search workshops |
Steps to Success is funded through East Midlands Learning and Skills Council ESF Objective 3 funding. The project delivered through a partnership involving NIACE, as the management partner, Leicester College’s Skills for Retail Centre of Vocational Excellence and several Leicester based delivery partners embedded within ethnic communities; the Bangladeshi Youth and Cultural Shomiti, the Overseas Qualifications Development Service, Business 2 Business.
The Steps to Success project is innovative in a number of ways:
| in its use of sustained Personal Advisor support throughout a sectorally focused skills development programme to establish and maintain beneficiary motivation. |
| In its development of new retail occupational skills assessments to assess prior knowledge and enable more rapid progress for beneficiaries found to already have relevant skills. |
| in its development of initial training in retail and of contextualised ESOL for retail learning materials to provide beneficiaries with the skills to succeed during their placement and in finding employment |
The legacy for the partners on completion of the project will be strong links between the partners, which span the voluntary and mainstream sector and increased capacity in many respects but especially with regard to establishing working relationships with employers.
Further information
If you or your organisation would like to offer practical support to the
Steps to Success project or if you would like further information on the
project, please contact the Project Manager:
Rob Gray
Senior Project Officer
NIACE
21 De Montfort Street
Leicester
LE1 7GE
0116 2042780
robert.gray@niace.org.uk
The following organisations work together in partnership to deliver the Steps to Success project:
