The welcome mat has been laid out at a pioneering new employment hub in North Shields.

From accessing the latest jobs through to mental health support, Working Well North Tyneside brings vital services together into one location for the first time to help support people into work.

The new hub is breathing life into a vacant store in North Shield’s Beacon Centre and the central location means it’s accessible via public transport, cars and on foot for local residents.

The one-stop-shop will make it easier for people to access employment and skills services, view the latest jobs on the market and receive support around housing, finance, debt, and physical and mental health.

Specialist teams will be based at the hub and partners from across the region will be offering their services including the NHS, Age UK, Citizens Advice, National Careers Service and the community and voluntary service.

To mark the official opening of the hub, Elected Mayor Norma Redfearn CBE cut the ribbon and welcomed service users, councillors, and partners of the service in to see the fantastic location the services will operate from.

Cllr Hannah Johnson, Cabinet Member for Inclusion, Employment and Skills, said: “Giving adults the opportunity to access support, guidance and employment opportunities is a priority for us and the opening of this hub is a great step towards us making it easier for our residents to access all the support they need.

“We’re delighted that partners across the borough, and the region, have joined us in the project and that their vital support is now part of what we can offer at the hub.

“I’d encourage any residents who are looking to take steps into employment to head down and see the brilliant offer and find out more about how the fantastic team can help.”

The project is closely linked to the exciting regeneration of North Shields masterplan, expanding the support available and encouraging developers and employers in the town centre to offer training and job opportunities.

The Working Well North Tyneside hub will open from 9.30am to 3.30pm Monday to Friday, walk ins are welcome.

North Tyneside Adult Learning Awards

North Tyneside’s adult learners and the tutors who support them were celebrated at an awards evening.

The annual awards, taking place for the 14^th time, honour the hard work and commitment of the inspirational learners who have overcome barriers and improved their life chanced through learning.

Supported by North Tyneside’s specialist Education and Skills service, six adult learners received awards and commemorations on the night.

The first award was presented to English and Maths learner of the year Declan Wilson who was praised for turning around his previous education experience and made a concerted effort to attend and engage in lessons and achieve his qualifications. Since completing his qualifications, he’s moved onto full time employment and has transformed his life.

Apprenticeships are a vital way to support young people into work, and the Apprentice of the Year award winner Fiona Collings was celebrated for her tireless work to complete her Children and Young Peoples qualification while also completing her English and ICT Functional Skills awards.

Fiona works within the residential childcare sector supporting young people to integrate and develop vital life skills. Speaking of her success, her tutor Kim Nash praised her for overcoming many personal and professional challenges to succeed in her education.

The evening showcased how North Tyneside’s residents show resilience and commitment to gain their qualifications, and one of the biggest success stories of the night was Adult Learner of the Year award winner Elizabeth Craggs.

Elizabeth has overcome severe physical pain due to her condition to complete her qualifications to improve her career prospects. Even when faced with struggles to get to her lessons, Elizabeth showed defiance and is now working in a higher paid, more technical role, something she dreamed of.

The final award of the evening went to the ‘Group Learners of the Year’ who are a true embodiment of how education can change a person’s life.

Earlier this year North Tyneside opened its homes to refugees from Ukraine who had been displaced due to a devastating war in their country. Since arriving in the borough, a group of Ukrainian joined our English course to learn the language to support them to access jobs, feel at home in our region, and to learn more about our culture and values.

Despite being forced to leave their homes and many of their loved ones behind, the learners worked hard in difficult and unusual circumstances to make the best of their situations and to improve their English skills. They joined weekly conversation classes to gain confidence in written and spoken English, to help with their basic needs including speaking to teachers, using public transport, and applying for jobs.

The full list of winners is as follows:

• The English and Maths Learner of the year – Winner Declan Wilson

• Jeanette Hedley Apprentice Learner of the year – Winner Fiona Collings

• Sandra Girvan Adult learner of the year – Winner Elizabeth Cragg and commended in this category – Maria Soplintai

• Group Learners of the year – Winners – Ukrainian learners and commended in this category – Working Roots Painting and Decoration Team.

A lovely morning spent with some of our fantastic apprentices from across Employment & Skills and North Tyneside Council carrying out our annual beach clean on Tynemouth beach. The team participated in a health & safety talk and then spent an hour scouring the beach  finding a wide range of rubbish including ghost fishing wire, plastic, bottles,  items of clothing and a football. They managed to collect a whopping 10 bags worth of rubbish saving our seas and wildlife from the devastating effects of debris left on our beaches!

Recently, we have had a lot of success with some of our Early Years learners. We love to shout about our successes here; read below to see our learners’ notable achievements.

• Laila, who did Level 2 EYE, has been offered employment at Beacon Hill School through an Agency
• Grace who is coming to the end of her Level 3 EYE will start the SCITT programme with NTC
• Cheryl, who did the L2 EYE, completed the SENCo training with us and continues to work at Dudley Under 5’s and the Sensory room at St James Park
• Zoe, who did the Level 3 EYE, has just been successful at interview for the Post of Early Years Practitioner at Christ Church School in the Nursery
• Stacey, who started her L2 EYE Diploma in April 22, is just starting out in her Childcare career has been employed at Field House Nursery so will gain her practical experience as an employee not as a volunteer

Well done everyone!