Training & Employment

Elixir specifically targets those groups who most disadvantaged in the labour market, such as long term unemployed, ex-offenders and recovering addicts.

These groups will generally have a number of barriers that bring with them limits to both employability and earnings potential, including:

• Limited education, training and work experience
• Poor skills
• Limited work experience
• Negative learning experiences in the past
• Lack of direction and ambition
• Lack of confidence and self belief
• Poor life skills

Specific disadvantages faced by each of our core target groups are demonstrated below:

• Recovering Addicts – generally have lacked support in stabilising their lives and securing a long-term future in work. That can lead to them relapsing or swapping one form of addiction for another, putting them back into the cycle of addiction and crime. When former users do get a job, they often face problems in coping with the bills and expenses that come with independent living.
• Ex-Offenders – Employer biases, criminal record and cycle of crime, substance abuse and other physical/mental health problems.
• Long Term Unemployed – No work history or gaps in employment. Dependency on benefits and psychological barriers, such as lack of confidence, fear of failure or a negative self-image.

Involving employees in developing our vision and values

During one of our current training initiatives we held a workshop with all volunteers to involve them in jointly establishing our working values. The outcomes will now be written into the trainees’ contracts. Examples of suggestions put forward by staff include:

• To be treated fairly
• Respect each other and treat others as you would want to be treated
• Listen and communicate
• Work as a team
• Have an open mind
• Don’t single people out
• Be punctual and reliable
• No blame culture and a visible warning system 

After this workshop, one volunteer commented:

 “Seeing that the company cares about what we think makes us want to work for you”.

This is real evidence that our commitment to involving and valuing staff allows us to develop a motivated and committed team, with a vested interest in the organisation and a sense of pride in their work. This will result in high volunteer retention, which has been a barrier to success in other social enterprises.