Free Employment Support in Essex
Connect to Work offers personalised support to help you get into work, and stay in work. It’s available in Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock, and open to people with health conditions and disabilities. Sign up today, and get practical, one-to-one support that meets your needs.
How it works
Connect to Work covers personalised job searching, support during long-term sick leave, and advice on workplace adjustments. If health or personal circumstances are affecting your job, we can help with:
Job searching
- Understand which roles are right for you.
- Build confidence for job searching and applications.
- Prepare for interviews.
Support in work
- Explore adjustments for staying in work safely.
- Plan for your return to work, if you’re on long-term leave.
Workplace adjustments
- Find ways to make your work more manageable.
- Understand reasonable adjustments that could support you.
- Help you talk to your employer.
Our Employment Specialists link with employers and businesses in Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock to find jobs that suit you. You could:
- Discover your skills and strengths, and explore what work might meet your experience, interests and needs.
- Identify any extra support you might need – whether it’s support to stay in work in Essex, or how to get back into work after illness.
- Access services for skills training, confidence-building and workplace adjustments.
- Create a job plan to understand your goals and how to reach them.
- Search for jobs, prepare for interviews, and get help with writing your CV and job applications.
- Have personal, work and health coaching that manages your wellbeing alongside job searches and returning to work.
- Get ongoing support to stay in work in Essex, with help keeping your job and talking to your employer.
Who can join Connect to Work – Essex
If you live in Essex and need help finding or staying in work with a health condition, we can support you. This includes physical or sensory disabilities, long-term health problems, learning disabilities or autism.
Connect to Work is free, voluntary and tailored to you – so you’ll feel more confident about finding and keeping a job.
Eligibility:
- Live in Essex, Southend-on-Sea, and Thurrock
- Be aged 18 or over
- Have the right to live and work in the UK
Be in one of these employment situations:
- You’re not currently doing any paid work, haven’t worked for around 6 months, and would be available to start a new job, or
- You’ve been in work for at least 3 months, but are at risk of losing your job.
You’ll also be eligible to join the programme if you’re part of a group listed below. These are recognised as having greater challenges with finding work:
- Offenders or ex-offenders
- Carers or ex-carers
- Homeless people
- Veterans
- People with current or previous drug or alcohol dependency
- Care-experienced young people or care leavers
- Refugees, or resettled Afghans
- People on a Homes for Ukraine scheme
- Survivors of domestic abuse
- Young people identified as being involved in, or at risk of being involved in, serious violence
- Victims of modern slavery
How to sign up
You can either refer yourself to Connect to Work Essex, or someone else can refer you (with your consent). This could be your employer, GP, local council or housing association. We’ll then contact you to talk through your situation and what you need.
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