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'Join our club' is the call of hope to the region's jobless executives
CAREER coaching firm Metier has launched a scheme for out-of-work Yorkshire executives to help them get back on the jobs ladder.
The Metier Passport offers executives a package of coaching, career advice, networking opportunities and a year's membership at Club LS1, the private members' club based at 3 Albion Place in Leeds.
The scheme is the brainchild of Metier chairman David Criddle, who believes that people who have held important managerial roles need better resources than a Jobcentre can offer.
The Government has recognised that executives need specific support and earlier this year Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell unveiled a 40m scheme to get them back to work.
But this involves professionals having to sign on and visit Jobcentres for one-on-one meetings with a personal adviser, attending group sessions with people in similar situations and being given tips on changing career.
Mr Criddle believes few would want to do this because of the stigma attached to going to a Jobcentre.
"One out-of-work executive told me that he goes to Jobcentre Plus to sign on, not to find a job," said Mr Criddle.
"These executives are accustomed to getting jobs through their connections or being headhunted, they're not used to sending out their CVs. We give these people the chance to say, 'Come to my club in Leeds'. It's in the right place and it creates the right impression."
Redundancy is becoming a major issue in Yorkshire with the latest Office for National Statistics figures showing that unemployment in the region is rising faster in this recession than at any time since the 1980s.
The ONS said that Yorkshire, the North East and the North West are all suffering from higher than average unemployment, while the South East, South West and Eastern regions are faring much better.
Leeds has been particularly hard hit because of the high numbers employed in financial services, making the city second only to London when it comes financial institutions.
The Centre for Cities think-tank has estimated that 28,000 workers in Leeds will lose their jobs by 2011.
The fall-out is expected to hit a large number of executives who have spent their whole career with one institution and have not been for an interview in years. These are the people who will struggle most to come to terms with the situation.
Mr Criddle said the emotional impact adds to the pressure of not having a job and creates an urgent need for a solution that can actually help people.
His scheme addresses three areas – coming to terms with the situation, deciding what to do in the future and helping people to achieve their goal.
His company offers business mentors and coaches with thousands of hours' experience, many of whom weathered the previous recession.
The Metier Passport costs between 3,000 and 5,000 and is frequently paid for by the company making the executive redundant. If a company won't pay for the scheme, executives may be eligible for funding from Government support organisations.
Once executives have signed up to the scheme, Metier uses Pro-File technology to look at their careers to date and identify their aspirations. It also works out their personal strengths and has been likened to a yearly medical.
"Pro-File technology gives people a snapshot of where they are now," said Mr Criddle. "It shows them which areas they are strong in and where they are weak. Once we know that we can work on the areas that need help and get people fully fit."
Passport holders will be able to access a range of services, including one-to-one coaching, peer workshops, professional and personal development courses and business networking events.
They will be partnered with a personal adviser who, over the course of the year, will connect them to a range of services to best suit their needs including arranging meetings with recruitment companies, advice on business courses, how to start up their own business, further education and other professional services.
"We can get people back on track," said Mr Criddle. "Although quite often that track may not be the one they thought it was."
Case study 1 – the executive
An executive in his early 30s had spent his career on a fast track in one of Yorkshire's banks and rose through the ranks quickly to director level.
However, the financial crisis left not only his company in tatters – and by default, his career with it – but also his reputation, as he felt he was being viewed negatively because he worked in financial services.
This sudden change in behaviour towards him had a negative influence on his drive to find work.
Following counselling he weighed up the choices and, recognising the impact on him of being part of a failing sector, made a tough decision to leave the country entirely and use his strengths in an entirely different sector.
Case study 2 – managing director
The managing director of a manufacturing company in West Yorkshire lost her job when the business went into receivership in autumn 2008.
Having moved into her previous leading role from that of finance director, her instinct was to return to a financial role. She applied for a number of finance director jobs, but with no success. She then decided to apply for lower tier jobs but still without luck. Unsure what to do next, she turned to her counsellor who helped her understand that her skills as a managing director hadn't been to do with finance but her strength was as a strategist and leader.
Exploring how these strengths could be applied broadened her horizons and she is now applying for positions she would never have considered previously.
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Weather for Yorkshire
Wednesday 08 February 2012
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