Welcome to the second edition of LINKnet's new online newsletter. The newsletter will be sent quarterly. In this bulletin you will find useful information about events and opportunities available around Edinburgh. It can also be used to share your experiences and successes of mentoring with other people involved with LINKnet. If you would like to contribute anything please contact Linda on 0131 225 6284 or email: linda@linknetmentoring.com
LINKnet Wins Lottery
LINKnet has been awarded a grant of £208,000.00 for its "16-24 Job Ready" project by Big Lottery Fund in its first funding round under the Investing in Communities programme. LINKnet seems to be the only black minority ethnic organisation that has been able to secure a grant in this round.
In a press release on 14 November 2006 LINKnet's project director R.Dissanayaka said "We are delighted to have been awarded this money which will help us to address the under-representation of black minority ethnic people in employment, education and civic life. The support we have received from the Big Lottery Fund will improve the quality of life for disadvantaged communities by broadening horizons and giving opportunities to participate fully in society"
LINknet's "16-24 job Ready" project is particularly concerned with school, college or University leaving BME individuals. They are recruited to LINKnet's mentoring programme and provided with a mentor from an employer that they wish to work for in the future. By doing this LINKnet improves their chances of getting a job easily and quickly. Although LINKnet's annual target of mentees remains at 60, 110 mentees, mostly would be graduates, have already enrolled with the programme for this year.
Funding opportunities for small black minority ethnic organisations are becoming increasingly scarce as most large scale funding bodies in Scotland are consistently cutting down their funding budgets. As far as we are aware a negligible percentage of trust funds and foundations support black minority ethnic activities in Scotland. In this bleak environment for black minority ethnic service providers the Big Lottery Fund stands out as one of the major funding agencies that understands the needs and aspirations of disadvantaged communities and the importance of achieving equal opportunities for all while some others only provide lip service. Our hats are off to the Big Lottery Fund.
Ranbandara Dissanayaka (Dip. Math, BA (Hon), MA, MBA)
LINKnet Project Director
"LINKnet Mentoring Ltd receives a Life Transitions award of £208,814 for its "16-24 Job Ready" project which aims to improve the skills and confidence of education leavers, primarily aged 16-24, from black, minority ethnic communities in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Scottish Borders. It will set up mentoring partnerships between people and either employers or education institutions with the aim of increasing access to and knowledge of the labour market."
Please click here to read the full article in Big Lottery Fund website.
This project is aimed at providing a mentoring service to more school leavers and people approaching graduation. The aim is to prepare people for finding a job or moving into further / higher education.
Through this project various Edinburgh employers whom we have partnerships with carry out induction presentations of their agencies to recruited mentees.
Mentees are then requested to identify one or two potential employers that interest them. Thereafter the mentees are allocated a mentor from the employer of their choice and mentoring starts.
If you would like more information about this project for yourself or a friend please contact jess@linknetmentoring.com or phone (0131)225 6284.
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LINKnet's "16-24 Job Ready" project has become highly popular. So far 110 mentees have enrolled with the programme. LINKnet staff are persevering to recruit suitable volunteers to support these mentees. We would like to recruit people to join our pool of volunteer mentors from a range of careers (both qualified and unqualified) who will be willing to attend a one-day training session and have:
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As a mentor you will be rewarded by having the opportunity to:
If you are keen to help a black minority ethnic graduate through the process of getting a job we are looking for you. Improving the quality of life of another person will give you so much satisfaction.
People from different ethnic communities coming together and getting to know each other is essential for a peaceful and harmonious society.
If you or any of your friends or family are interested in becoming a member please contact a member of LINKnet staff.
January to February dates
FREE Information Sessions available from Careers Scotland
These brief sessions will give you the basic skills to begin preparing your CV (CV Workshop) or prepare for interviews (Interview Skills Workshop)
| CV Workshops: | Interview Skills Workshops: |
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Will give you the skills to:
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This session will cover:
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| Wednesday 10 January 4.30pm - 6.00pm | Thursday 11 January 10.30am - 12.00 noon |
| Thursday 18 January 10.30am - 12.00 noon | Wednesday 17 January 4.30pm - 6.00pm |
| Wednesday 24 January 4.30pm - 6.00pm | Thursday 25 January 10.30am - 12.00 noon |
| Thursday 1 February 10.30am - 12.00 noon | Wednesday 31 January 4.30pm - 6.00pm |
* BOOKING ESSENTIAL *
Please speak to a member of Careers Scotland staff to book, or email apexhouse@careers-scotland.org.uk with full details: Name, address, and postcode, telephone number, your preferred course and time
Venue details:
Careers Scotland Centre
79 Shandwick Place
Edinburgh EH2 4SD
Good Immigration Advice - A presentation by the independent regulator of immigration advisers
Darren Bird, the Community Liaison Officer at The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) will be delivering a presentation entitled "Good Immigration Advice".
The OISC is an independent public body that regulates voluntary, private and some statutory organisations that provide immigration advice. The OISC is not part of the Home Office and have no say over immigration or nationality cases
The presentation will cover:
The OISC is established to ensure that people who need immigration advice receive good advice.
They handle complaints about poor immigration advice, including those against barristers and solicitors.
Venue:
Edinburgh Refugee Centre
St George's West Church Centre
58 Shandwick Place
Edinburgh
EH2 4RT
Date & Time
14 December 2006 - 9:30 - 12:00
The Welcoming
(Adult Learning Project)
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The Welcoming Project is a gathering of all people of Edinburgh. They meet every Wednesday at The Methodist Church Hall in Tollcross, Edinburgh. They organise a range of events, activities and outings on all days and evenings. The Wednesday Welcoming Programme is as follows:
For more information contact The Welcoming on 0131 221 9756 or just go along to the Methodist Church Hall on a Wednesday. |
Women Onto Work - Course for Black & Minority Ethnic Women 2007
What's the course about?
WOW's free 36 day course gives you the opportunity to explore your options in paid work, training or further study.
The course will give you the chance to:
While you are on the course, WOW will pay for registered childcare, including crèche, after school clubs and nursery pickups.
Who can do the course?
Black & Minority Ethnic women, over 21, out of paid work for over 6 months and living in Edinburgh.
For more information contact Women Onto Work:
Telephone: 0131 475 2622
Email: mail@womenontowork.org
Early Years and Childcare Services for minority ethnic families in Edinburgh are the subject of a piece of research being carried out at Edinburgh University, as researchers have identified the need to improve the delivery of all the services, including health, education and child and family support for minority ethnic families with young children.
We would therefore like to hear from minority ethnic parents who can tell us about their experiences with nurseries (state or private), primary one, the health and social services in Edinburgh. It does not matter whether these are current or relatively recent (within the last 3 years) experiences provided they relate to children in the 0-6 years age group.
We would be interested to hear about your feelings and opinions of the services, what aspects you were satisfied with, and where you believe there is scope for improvement, how easy or difficult you found communication with staff in those agencies, how helpful or unhelpful staff were, how it affected your children, and any other matter you wish to raise. If you can tell us what you think, we can work towards bringing about changes in the way services are delivered.
If you are able to contribute to this discussion, we would like to invite you to join us at a focus group on Friday, 15th December, at 11am at LINKnet, followed by a light lunch. It will probably take one hour (although it depends on how much you have to say!) and will be fairly informal. An interpreter can be provided if you wish. You will not be required to provide any personal details and anything you say will be entirely confidential. Your assistance would be greatly appreciated.
If you wish to take part, please contact Linda at LINKnet on 0131 225 6284.
Remember that old saying: you only have one chance to make a good first impression. On first meetings most people will have made a judgment about you within four minutes. Make the most of these important first few minutes of an in interview with a confident smile and a firm handshake. Remember anyone you meet at an interview may soon be your colleagues so be friendly and polite to everyone you meet!
On our new-look website (http://www.linknetmentoring.com), we regularly advertise jobs and training opportunities and the latest news about LINKnet.