Support for unemployed as redundancies rocket during pandemic

By Rafi Mauro-Benady

A group of Rotary clubs has launched the second phase of a scheme to support the unemployed and those at risk of losing their jobs, whilst redundancies skyrocket due to the pandemic.

The Rotary Work Club, created by eight rotary clubs in Bromley will offer a series of seminars and coffee mornings to help with CV writing, interview skills, sorting finances, building a LinkedIn profile, and how to start a business.

Phase one started in October last year and ended in December, with phase two commencing on January 11 last week.

Each phase has different attendees, learning the same skills and taking part in the same workshops.

The project brings together business and professional leaders in order to provide help to communities.

Participants in phase one included people who hadn’t had an interview in 20 years, those who found application forms challenging, and some who had been told they lacked confidence or enthusiasm at interview, but without being given any advice on how to improve.

Assistant district governor for the Rotary Clubs in Bromley, Christine Atkinson, 71, said: “As Rotary Clubs always have, we set out to help local people in these extraordinary times when they most need it.

“The feedback we have had from people who have used new skills and confidence to enter work, or simply to feel better as they are among people with similar issues, has been very rewarding.”

Gary Butt, 38, of Pinewood Avenue, Sidcup, used to work for a fashion retailer, but he started using the Rotary Club in December last year after his company made him redundant due to Covid-19.

Mr Butt said: “Without the Rotary Club I would be in more of an anxious position.

“I could have said something at the workshops that someone else may not have thought of, which supported them on their job search, and someone might have said something where I thought ‘oh I didn’t think about it in that way’.

“And I think the opportunity to have that open forum to discuss the situation has been advantageous to me.

“By attending these sessions, I see this period [of looking for work] as a chapter in my life.

“So if I hadn’t had that, I think I would be a few steps behind what I’m going through, from an emotional point of view.”