St Giles is helping people remain in and secure livable employment, through effective and holistic employment support.
Through our food Pantry Network, community support sessions and local outreach, St Giles has transformed thousands of people’s lives through entrance to employment and growth within employment.
What Is Employment Support?
Employment support helps individuals prepare for, find, and maintain work. It’s designed to improve employability and guide people into meaningful, sustainable jobs, often delivered by charities, job centres, training providers, or employment-focused programmes. It can include:
- creating or updating CVs,
- supporting job searches and applications,
- preparing for interviews,
- building essential skills such as teamwork and communication.
At St Giles, employment support is about more than simply finding a job, it’s about building a pathway to long-term stability and a fulfilling career.
Our approach covers everything above while taking a personal approach.
- Holistic: We recognise that employment is only one piece of the puzzle. We address wider challenges such as housing issues, mental health, or lack of digital access.
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Barrier-removing: From securing ID and childcare to supporting individuals with a history of offending, we help people overcome the real-life obstacles that prevent progress.
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Personal and lived-experience-led: Our staff, many with lived experience themselves, offer 1-to-1 tailored support and build the trusted relationships needed for real change.
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Flexible: We know formal routes don’t work for everyone, so we help people find opportunities that fit their circumstances and strengths — even outside conventional recruitment paths.
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Quality-focused: We aim for stable, fairly paid jobs with genuine prospects, not short-term fixes.
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Confidence-building: We rebuild self-belief in people who may have been told they’ll never succeed, empowering them to thrive in work and beyond.
Why Would Someone Need Employment Support?
Someone might need employment support to help them prepare for and find work, especially if they face challenges like gaps in employment, lack of confidence, limited skills, or uncertainty about career options.
Employment support provides practical help with CVs, job applications, interviews, and training, making it easier to take positive steps toward stable and meaningful work.
How Does Employment Affect Poverty?
Employment can be a vital route out of poverty, but only when it’s stable, fairly paid, and secure. For many people we work with, accessing work is a powerful step toward independence, improved well-being, and a brighter future. But work alone doesn’t always guarantee financial security.
Insecure hours, low wages, lack of progression, and the rising cost of living mean that some people remain trapped in poverty, even while working. At St Giles, we support people to not only find work but to find better work. Our aim is to help people build careers that offer dignity, security, and real opportunity.
Paul was eager to find stable employment but needed support to overcome the barriers in his path.
What is In Work Poverty and Better Work?
In-work poverty happens when someone is working but still unable to meet basic living costs. It can affect people in low-paid, insecure or part-time jobs, especially if they face additional challenges such as debt, housing insecurity or caring responsibilities.Â
At St Giles, we don’t stop at getting someone into work. We help people enhance their job quality, whether that means securing more stable or flexible hours, earning better pay, or gaining access to training that unlocks new opportunities. Our support is long-term and focused on helping people build lasting change, not just short-term solutions.Â
Who Is Employment Support For?
We provide tailored employment support for adults as well as young people aged 16-25 facing complex barriers.
To support our employment support we work with relevant St Giles and partner services to ensure everyone gets the correct support for each individual.
Our Employment Support Approach
Holistic Support
We recognise that employment is only one piece of the puzzle. We address wider challenges such as housing issues, mental health, or lack of digital access. Taking this approach, we are able to view the whole person and deliver more effective support with a sustainable path out of poverty.
Removing Barriers
By working with the individual on a bespoke approach, we are able to support specific barriers that the person is facing. This ensures that barriers are recognised and addressed with the correct support.