Immediate: 3 May, 2005
Three Into One Does Go!
Oldhamers looking to find work, improve their skills or change their careers will benefit from the creation of a brand new organisation, Highway to Opportunities.
The creation of Highway to Opportunities (H2O) brings together three highly respected Oldham organisations, dedicated to enabling people to achieve their potential:
- Oldham Adult Careers Guidance Service (delivered by Positive Steps Oldham) offers information, advice and guidance to all adults in Oldham, enabling them to make decisions about their future employment, education or training opportunities;
- Opportunities for Women offers a holistic service of guidance, information and training to any woman in Oldham seeking to return to work or work for the first time.
- Routes to Employment, a project run by West Pennine Housing Association, has been helping people in the SRB6 area to gain employment through training, placements, benefit/debt advice and job search facilities, since 2002.
H2O will be created on 3rd May, 2005, when 33 staff are officially seconded into the new organisation. Les Crabb, Operations Manager of H2O explains the rationale behind the new organisation:
“The launch of H2O will bring major benefits for the people of Oldham and our own staff. This new organisation will employ more than 30 staff and turnover around £800,000 per year.
“The three organisations that are coming together complement each other perfectly. People living in Oldham will benefit from a seamless service that can move them through from thinking about their future options, to preparing and building confidence for work, to providing training for job skills, to intensive job search support.
“We will provide a truly integrated range of learning, support and employment-related services that empower clients to achieve their potential."
Work is under way on refurbishing the former Connexions Centre on Union Street, which will open later this summer, providing a purpose-designed centre for H2O’s activities.
Until the new base opens, clients can continue to access the services for the Adult Careers Guidance Service, Opportunities for Women and Routes to Employment in their existing bases in Brunswick House, Union Street (ACGS and OFW) and St Chad’s Centre in Limehurst Village for R2E. (H2O will continue to operate from St Chad’s Centre even after the opening of the new base.)
Ends
Note to editors: H20 is a company formed as a partnership between Positive Steps Oldham (PSO) (which delivers Adult Careers Guidance Services), Opportunities for Women and West Pennine Housing Association.
It is a separate company with its own board and financial accounts but controlled by Positive Steps Oldham. To ensure that existing PSO staff and those transferring in from Opportunities for Women and West Pennine Housing Association can all enjoy the benefits of the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, all staff working in H2O will be employed by PSO and seconded into H2O.
For further information, please contact Andy Swain, Marketing and Information Manager, on 0161 621 9321, or Les Crabb, Operations Manager, H2O on 0161 785 3597 or 07713 506420.
