Working for Families

1
Working for Families
Dumfries and Galloway

• Transport and Rural Issues
• Dumfries and Galloway Dawn Redpath
• Highland Kate MacLean

2
Highland Area is the size of Wales

• WFF Highland had offices in Wick, Bonar Bridge,
  Invergordon, and Broadford in Skye, and 2 Areas
  of Inverness
• To improve our coverage, for 2006-8 we expanded
  into Dunvegan in Skye, Thurso in Caithness,
  Dingwall in Ross-shire, and added 2 major housing
  estates in Inverness

3
Remote Communities

• The further from centres of service, the more any
  poverty is behind lace curtains. Communities
  seem idyllic, but the barriers to employment are
  even higher than in urban areas. This is Staffin,
  Skye.

4
Distances are vast

• Inverness to Wick or Skye 120 miles
• Services, eg. DSA often centralised
• Scheduled service poor for shopping, impossible
  for work
• Transport costs are high

5
Quick Facts Dumfries and Galloway

• Covers 2,380 square miles with 239 miles of
  coastline
• Population of D G was 147,765
• Population density of 60 people per mile
• Traditionally a low paid economy

6
Labour Market Information

• D G different from rest of Scotland with high
  reliance on jobs in Tourism, Manufacturing and
  Agriculture
• High proportion of self employment as a result of
  this
• Recent survey of employer needs suggests an
  increasing rate of vacancies

7
So.

• Bearing in mind that Working for Families works
  with parents from vulnerable situations e.g. Lone
  parents, low income families, parents with other
  stresses
• And removes barriers to parents progression
  towards employment
• What specific challenges might rural areas face?

8
Barriers?

• Transport infrastructure does not exist,
  creative solutions needed!
• Access to childcare inconsistent across the
  area and expensive due to high unit costs
• Partnership working can be difficult with fewer
  organisations to work with and sometimes services
  just not there!

9
Barriers?

• Low skills base
• Physical Isolation
• Different types of deprivation for parents
• Types of job opportunities matching parents
  aspirations
• No close urban centre in D G
• Traditions

So what can WfF do?....
10
Lack of Transport is a Major Barrier

• Public transport is intermittent
• Cost of petrol/diesel prohibitive
• Distances vast easily 50, sometimes 100
  mile round trip to
  work/training centre
• Childcare often only available at distance
• Time element affects practicality

11
What we have done

• Top-up scheme encourages clients to become
  childminders
• Areas selected where no childcare exists
• Paid for driving lessons
• Clients encouraged into HGV and PSV
• Funded distance learning

12
Taking the mountain to Mohammed

• Working with Partner and other Agencies, we
  delivered courses in far-flung areas
• Family Opportunity Fairs in Skye
• Self-Esteem Groups in Wick
• NLP delivered widely
• Escape Group with Neets parents

13
Escape Group

• Young parents Group from (urban) Merkinch,
  Inverness, taken on outdoor day trips, and
  eventually completed the Ben Nevis Challenge.

14
Barriers?

• Transport infrastructure does not exist,
  creative solutions needed!
• Access to childcare inconsistent across the
  area and expensive due to high unit costs
• Partnership working can be difficult with fewer
  organisations to work with and sometimes services
  just not there!

15
Barriers?

• Low skills base
• Physical Isolation
• Different types of deprivation for parents
• Types of job opportunities matching parents
  aspirations
• No close urban centre in D G
• Traditions
• Rural areas become creative!

16
D G Achievement Day 2007

• Ive been with WFF for around 4 months, it's
  gave me my life back. Thank you to all!

17
Achievement Day 2007

• Very informative, gained knowledge on relevant
  issues regarding my own circumstances if there
  were more organisations like WFF then poverty
  might become a thing of the past