Keeping in Touch

Cheshire, Halton and Warrington Job Centre Plus produce a regular newsletter to keep you up to date with the latest from the local Jobcentre Plus.

If you’re not already on the distribution list, subscribe now by e-mailing deborah.j.ainsworth@jobcentreplus.gsi.gov.uk

The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) is an agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

Its job is to fund and regulate adult FE and skills training in England. They are part of a network of organisations in the country who commission, manage and market training for adults.

The SFA invest public spending - £4 billion per year - in colleges and training organisations to fund training for adults in England. The training is mainly to improve skills so that people can do their jobs better, get new jobs, or progress in their careers.

The SFA provides a weekly round up of business critical information, news and views for the sector through its "Update" service.

You can register for the  SFA web alerts service to be alerted when new issues of Update are added to the SFA website.

The YPLA was established by the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 and launched in April 2010.

Sponsored by the Department for Education, we are responsible for planning, allocating and funding education and training for all 16 - 19 year olds in England - a remit that brings these three strands together for the first time.

 

Charities Evaluation Services (CES) is the UK's leading provider of support and advice on quality and evaluation systems for the voluntary sector

CES runs the National Performance Programme which supports and strengthens the effective work done by local and specialist infrastructure.

Services include training, mentoring, information provision and campaigning.

Cheshire and Warrington Social Enterprise Partnership is a membership organisation whose main purpose is to support the development of a thriving social enterprise sector in Cheshire and Warrington that delivers real social and environmental benefits to local communities.

The Partnership is governed by a voluntary Board of Directors elected from our membership. The majority of our Board members are staff or board members of social enterprises based in Cheshire and Warrington.

Cheshire Community Action is a local charity committed to providing funding, advice and support for projects designed to protect and enhance the rural – and increasingly the urban – communities of Cheshire and Warrington.  It is one of 38 Rural Community Councils covering every County in England.

Chester Voluntary Action’s mission is to promote and support voluntary action in the local government district of Cheshire West and Chester and surrounding areas. It does this through services to local voluntary, community and faith organisations and to citizens interested in volunteering, provided by CVA and Volunteer Centre Chester.

CVS Cheshire East is an independent organisation supporting the development of a vibrant, effective and influential voluntary and community sector (VCS) across Cheshire East.

EPNAVCO is the Ellesmere Port and Neston Association of Voluntary and Community Organisations.

EPNAVCO is an infrastructure organisation, providing support to other voluntary and community organisations in Ellesmere Port and Neston.

Improving Support provides a website, magazine and e bulletin which bring together practical resources for all those providing support to third sector organisations.

Hosted by Capacitybuilders, their website provides a gateway to the widest range of tools and information, and will soon offer an easily accessible community for the exchange of resources, ideas and learning.

The National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA)  is the national voice of local third sector infrastructure in England.

NAVCA aims to ensure communities are well served by the local third sector by supporting its members and their work with over 160,000 local groups and organisations.

Founded in 1919, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)  is  the largest umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in England with sister councils in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

NCVO is a highly effective lobbying organisation and represents the views of its members, and the wider voluntary sector to government, the European Union and other bodies. NCVO is also at the leading edge of research into, and analysis of, the voluntary sector.

The National Institute of Adult and Continuing Education (NIACE) has a remit to promote lifelong learning opportunities for adults across the UK.

NIACE works to develop increased participation in education and training, particularly for those who do not have easy access because of barriers of class, gender, age, race, language and culture, learning difficulties and disabilities, or insufficient financial resources.

VSNW (Voluntary Sector North West) is the regional voluntary sector network for the North West. The purpose of VSNW is to ensure that the voluntary and community sector (VCS), in all its diversity, takes its full part in shaping the future of the North West.

VSNW works with 150 members which work across the region directly supporting and delivering services for individuals, or are VCS infrastructure organisations (LIOs) that work with local voluntary and community groups.

VSNW provides regular briefings relevant to the Third Sector in the North West and these can be viewed on the VSNW website.

Warrington Voluntary Action offers a wide range of services for local organisations, small groups and volunteers at all stages of their development.

Cheshire East Council is a Unitary Local Authority serving the east side of the previous county of Cheshire.

Cheshire West and Chester Council is a Unitary Local Authority serving the west of the previous county of Cheshire

Warrington Borough Council is a Unitary Local Authority

Every year BIG gives out millions of pounds from the National Lottery to good causes. Our money goes to community groups and to projects that improve health, education and the environment.

Barrowmore is a long established charity specialising in the fields of Employment, Accommodation and Training and Development for people with a disability.

We are a social enterprise established through the aspirations of local people, partner support and dedicated team serving the community of Blacon, Chester. Our goal is to establish local sustainable services and to share best practice wherever we can

Support for people living with or affected by HIV and AIDS

The BYPP provides opportunity and support to young people in Blacon enabling them to reach their potential as positive members of their community.

The Carers Federation, a company limited by guarantee, was established in 1992 as a small local charity and has grown steadily to become an organisation which works across the East Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside, as well as the North East and North West.

We now provide a diverse range of services, from small local contracts to a large national contract for the Department of Health. We employ nearly 200 people, based at our offices in the Midlands and Northern England.

Cheshire and Warrington Social Enterprise Partnership is a membership organisation whose main purpose is to support the development of a thriving social enterprise sector in Cheshire and Warrington that delivers real social and environmental benefits to local communities.

Our objectives are to work towards the elimination of racial discrimination and to promote equality of opportunity and good relations between persons of differing racial groups.

Social Inclusive club for people with and without disabilities.

Chester Adult-Phab Social Club aims to promote and encourage people of all abilities to come together on equal terms, to achieve complete inclusion within the wider community.

As a Community Interest Company our main focus is working in disadvantaged communities and neighbourhoods, and with individuals who experience deep-seated and long term issues that prevent sustainability of employment and birth/growth of enterprises. Individuals may be long-term unemployed, ex-offenders, have disability or (mild to medium) mental health conditions.

Just Drop-In (JDI) was the Millennium Project of Churches Together in Macclesfield and the Youth service, aiming to provide a "one-stop shop" for 12-25 year olds in the area where information and specialist advice could be accessed in a welcoming and informal setting.

Supporting adults with learning disabilities in Crewe and Nantwich

Registered charity working with disabled children and young people

Vintage Blacon is a faith based partnership for older people in Blacon, Chester

We are a Large Scale Voluntary Transfer (LSVT) housing association, formed in July 2002. We are an independent organisation with a clear vision for our future serving the eastern part of Cheshire West.

Winsford Community Action Project, affectionately known as WINCAP, was created in 1997. Since then we just keep on growing!

Now a community anchor organisation we run a whole raft of projects as well as managing a community led building

Youth Matter! is a proactive organisation, which works to meet the needs of young people in Warrington borough by aiding and supporting the work of its member groups.

Investing in Volunteers for Employers is the UK award recognising commitment to best practice in employer supported volunteering. It is designed for any size of company that supports its employees to volunteer and is flexible enough to recognise the full range of volunteering that may be offered by an employer.

The Standard comprises of 10 Indicators of volunteer management best practice, supported by a range of practices

Investing in Volunteers is being managed by the four development agencies of the UK Volunteering Forum: Volunteering England, Volunteer Development Scotland, Volunteer Now in Northern Ireland, and Wales Council for Voluntary Action.

Investors in People is a flexible and easy to use standard which helps organisations transform their business performance. The frameworks are outcome focused, outlining what you need to achieve, but never prescribing how. This flexible approach allows thousands of different employers of every sector and size to use the same framework.

The ISO 9000 family of standards represents an international consensus on good quality management practices. It consists of standards and guidelines relating to quality management systems and related supporting standards.

The Matrix Standard is a national quality standard for organisations delivering information, advice and guidance services for learning and work.It is overseen by the Department of Business Innovation and Skills.

Matrix is a robust framework, consisting of 10 elements, which define best practice. To achieve the Matrix standard organisations have to demonstrate some 54 performance measures focusing on the delivery of the services and on the efficient management of people and resources.

The symbol is awarded by Jobcentre Plus to employers in England, Scotland and Wales who have made commitments to employ, keep and develop the abilities of disabled staff.

If an employer uses this symbol, it means they are positive about employing disabled people and will be keen to know about your abilities.

You will see the symbol displayed on job adverts and application forms.

The PQASSO Quality Mark is the externally assessed award for PQASSO.

It offers accreditation against the PQASSO quality standards, the most widely used quality assurance system within the voluntary and community sector.

The Social Enterprise Mark identifies businesses that meet defined criteria for social enterprise.

The Mark offers consumers an instantly recognisable logo that represents enterprises working for social and environmental aims, trading to benefit people and the planet.

The Training Quality Standard recognises and celebrates the best organisations delivering training to employers.

The Standard highlights high quality, high impact training, by looking at the organisation’s responsiveness, flexibility, expertise and commitment to continuous improvement.

The Standard is a mark for training providers to aspire to because it’s tough to achieve – and through it, their performance is what really sets them apart from the competition.

The Third Sector National Learning Alliance (TSNLA)  is the voice for all Third Sector learning and skills providers. TSNLA is  made up of organisations from the Third Sector, speaking on behalf of the Third Sector and using their website to share information with the Third Sector.

The Third Sector is uniquely placed to meet the diverse and changing learning needs of our present day society and by working together we can use our many voices to achieve a vision of a better, fairer world.

The aim of Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) is to improve organisations and working life through better employment relations.