Employment and training
Are you looking for work?
The City of London Corporation is supporting and delivering a
number of projects to help maximise
employment opportunities for residents of the City and City
fringe. These include the Brokerage Citylink, a City-based charity
which assists local job seekers into City employment, and
‘Directions', the
Financial Services Skills Council’s new
web-based resource providing information, advice and guidance to
help City fringe residents access ‘City-type’ jobs, particularly at
non-graduate level in support roles.
Job opportunities at
the City of London Corporation are published online and you may
also be interested in applying to the
City of London Police. For more public sector
jobs visit the Opportunities website or
Jobs Go
Public. Help and advice on job hunting and an online jobsearch
facility is provided by
Jobcentre Plus and the national
Careers Advice Service provides free advice on
changing your career and learning new skills. The Government's
Real Help Now pages on the Directgov website are another source
of information about the support that’s available and where to go
for help.
City residents in the wards of Portsoken and Cripplegate (and
residents from the Spitalfields area of Tower Hamlets) may be
interested in the
City and Spitalfields Training for Employment project which
offers eligible residents with support including employability
training, jobsearch support, progression advice and training
tasters.
Job seekers can also take advantage of the free internet access,
computing facilities, and daily newspapers available at the
City of London’s Libraries.
Would you like to Improve your
skills through volunteering?
If you are looking for work or you are currently reassessing
your career and would like to enhance your employable skills, why
not volunteer?
Download 'Continuing professional development to
keep ready for work' here (36kb)
Volunteering not only gives you an opportunity to utilise your
professional skills in a new environment, but you could also
receive free training and develop entirely new skills. If you are
an employee of a City company contact
City Action, a free volunteering brokerage
service matching the needs of community-based organisations in the
City and surrounding areas with the employee volunteering
aspirations of staff from City companies.
Are you interested in adult
learning opportunities?
The City of London Corporation offers a range of
courses for adults at various sites across the City. Courses
are available in a wide variety of subjects from Computing and
Languages to Arts and Crafts. If you are 60 or over at the point of
enrolment, receive an income based benefit or you are unemployed
and receive Job Seeker's Allowance then you may be eligible for a
concession. Additional adult learning opportunities are provided by
City and
Islington College and the City Lit. General advice and guidance on adult
learning is available from Learndirect.
Money matters
Do you need advice on debt or
personal finances?
If you are concerned about debt or personal financial
management, confidential and independent advice is available from
National Debtline (tel: 0808 808 4000) or from
the Citizens’ Advice Bureau. The UK government is
also providing information and online services for the public
through the DirectGov website, which provides advice on
debts and arrears, planning your way out of debt and Court claims
and bankruptcy. The Government's
Real Help Now pages on the Directgov website are another source
of information about the support that’s available and where to go
for help.
If you are worried about money you may also like to try the
online Debt Remedy tool provided by the
Consumer Credit
Counselling Service . It takes about 20 minutes to answer the
questions and will provide you with a completely free anonymous
assessment of your situation with recommendations. The Consumer
Credit Counselling Service is a registered charity dedicated to
providing free, confidential debt advice and money management
assistance to financially distressed families and
individuals.
The City of London Corporation can also offer assistance to its
housing tenants through a holistic debt management approach,
dealing with not only rent arrears but also helping tenants to
ensure that they are in receipt of appropriate benefits and
providing debt management and household budgeting advice. Tenants
should speak to their
Area Housing Manager (AHM) for further details.
Do you need advice on housing
issues?
If you are having difficulties paying your rent or
mortgage it is important that you do not ignore the
problem and seek advice as soon as possible. If you have a mortgage
and are concerned about your ability to make payments or are
already in arrears, free, confidential information and advice is
available from the
Citizens’ Advice Bureau website or from
Shelter, the national housing and homeless
charity which specialises in helping people with all kinds of
housing problems including struggling homeowners and those under
threat of repossession.
Jobcentre Plus can also provide advice on
eligibility for benefits including help with your mortgage
interest.
If you are a tenant of City of London
Corporation and you are having difficulty, or are
concerned that you may have difficulty, paying your rent please
let us know as soon as possible. Making us aware of your
situation will enable us to discuss the problem and advise you on
what action you would need to take. We can also provide the
necessary information for making a housing benefit claim. Remember
you can always speak to your
Area Housing Manager (AHM) who can discuss an agreement to pay
your rent. Do not ignore your rent arrears, as the amount will
escalate and you may put yourself in the danger of losing your
home. If you have had a change of circumstances or just want to
check your entitlements, the City of London can also provide advice
on
Housing Benefit,
Council Tax, and a range of
other
allowances and grants.
If you are at risk of becoming homeless or are already
homeless the City of London can provide
information
and advice about housing and may be able to offer temporary
accommodation or a permanent home.
Do you need advice on your
entitlement to benefits?
Information and advice is available to all City residents on
entitlement to welfare benefits and
other
allowances and grants. Whether you have had a change of
circumstances or just want to check your entitlements, advice is
available on
Housing Benefit,
Council Tax, and a range of
other
allowances and grants.
The Citizens’ Advice Bureau can also provide free,
confidential advice on benefit entitlement.
How can you save money by
making your home more energy efficient?
The City of London offers advice to residents to help make
simple, effective changes for a more environmentally friendly
lifestyle. Join an Eco Team to learn how to cut energy bills and be
more environmentally friendly.
Download the Eco Team flyer here
Previous teams have cut bills by an average of £150 per
household per year.
Health and leisure
Do you need advice on health
matters?
If you are feeling distressed and would like to talk to someone
you can call the Samaritans 24 hours a day on 08457
90 90 90. Samaritans provide confidential, non-judgemental
emotional support for people who are experiencing feelings of
distress or despair including as a result of loss of a job,
financial worries or job-related stress or overwork.
The City of London, together with City and Hackney Teaching
Primary Care Trust and other partner agencies, provides
health
and social care services for all residents and employees across
the Square Mile. Confidential advice and information, support,
counselling and assistance is available to people dealing with a
wide variety of issues including mental health problems, alcohol
and drub problems, learning disabilities, physical disabilities or
problems associated with caring for someone. Help and advice is
available on all aspects of health and social care for
children and families,
adults and
older people.
The City & Hackney Primary Care Trust also provides a
Smoking Cessation programme for City residents and workers.
Download
details of the Smoking Cessation programme from their
website
As well as improving your health, quitting smoking will help you
save money - if you currently smoke twenty cigarettes a day
quitting will save you £176 each month (over £2,000 a year).
Are you looking for ideas for
low cost exercise and sports activities?
Golden Lane Leisure Centre, the only public funded leisure
centre in the City, offers a wide and varied programme of
activities including classes in aqua aerobics, yoga, beginners' and
improvers' swimming lessons, tennis lessons and a family fun swim
on Sundays. There are also programmes of activities designed
especially for children and seniors. Some classes are free and
others are priced at less than £2 per session. City residents and
employees can also get a discount on
Leisure and sport passes at Golden Lane Leisure Centre.
Why not go for a walk? Walking is not only good for you it also
completely free. The City of London’s Sports Development Team has a
range of
walking maps to help you find a route that suits you, or
download one of the heritage, architecture or sightseeing walking
guides from the
Visit the City website.
Are you looking for ideas for
free or low cost days out?
Things to see and do
The City of London’s
Visit the City website is great source of ideas
and inspiration for free or low cost days out in the City. Why not
visit the Museum of London, one of the world’s largest
urban history museums telling the story of the capital’s turbulent
past from prehistoric times through Roman, Saxon and Medieval times
to the present day. The Museum is open daily with free family
events on Sundays and during school holidays. Admission to the
Guildhall Art Gallery and Roman London’s Amphitheatre is also
free for City residents and workers and free to everybody on
Fridays and after 3.30pm on all other days. Free tours of the
highlights of the Gallery's permanent collection are available on
Fridays. The Barbican Centre, Europe's largest multi-arts
venue, also has free exhibitions, regular free events and special
offers, including the
FreeB membership
for 16-25 year olds giving young people the chance to get their
hands on thousands of free tickets for music, theatre, film, art
and dance.
Open spaces
The City of London manages over 10,000 acres of open spaces in
and around London for the recreation and enjoyment of the public.
In addition to 150 small
gardens in the City , the City of London manages Hampstead
Heath, Epping Forest, Burnham Beeches, Ashtead Common, West Wickham
and West Ham Park. The
open spaces offer something for everyone, whether your interest
is simply enjoying nature or participating in the many different
events and activities on offer. Events take place at each of the
open spaces throughout the year and during school holidays, ranging
from guided walks to open air theatre to a ‘Discover Bats’ course,
many of which are completely free.