Bristol, United Kingdom—
The Move In, Move On, Move Up (MIMOMU) programme was developed in Bristol, United Kingdom, to address the employment needs of homeless people.
The programme is designed specifically to help homeless people increase their skills and knowledge, improve their employment opportunities and build resilience.
The key objectives of the MIMOMU project are:
To produce a service that addresses the needs of the homeless community in the city and enables this group to grow their talents, overcome barriers and progress towards employment. The programme seeks to engage with a minimum of 70 claimants to enhance their skills, abilities and knowledge of the labour market.
To broaden the pipeline of new and diverse talent and fill vacancies across the City of Bristol, by encompassing the homeless community and engaging with employers to identify innovative ways of matching their jobs to those deprived communities.
The MIMOMU project is designed specifically to reach out to homeless people and help them increase their skills and knowledge, progress towards work, and build resilience. Support is delivered through a personalised service. The core services are delivered face-to-face by dedicated front-line staff offering language training, employability support, job coaching and wraparound support, such as debt service, health service, tenancy, welfare rights and housing. Additional activities include participation in job fairs and pop-up events across the city, building better relationships, networks, and communication skills, peer-learning activities, and participating in sector-based academies.
The programme ran from August 2020 to March 2022 and was funded by the National Department of Work and Pensions and the Bristol City Council. The programme is delivered in cooperation with a wide variety of stakeholders including:
Various Bristol City Council Teams (e.g. Community Learning Team, the Employment Support Team and the Housing Options and Tenancy Support Teams) and
Local voluntary and community sector organisations also provide broader support e.g. The Salvation Army, Golden Key, St Mungo’s Assertive Contact and Engagement Service, Homeless Health Service, Bristol Drugs Project and Bristol ROADS (Recovery Orientated Alcohol and Drugs Service).
Three elements have been pointed out as success factors that could be transferrable to other places and locations:
Partnerships and a good multi-agency model to get everyone involved have been critical to the success of the programme;
Engagement of supportive and inclusive employers;
Employment of dedicated skilled and experienced front-line staff that adopt a flexible and supportive approach.
According to city-level practitioners, the main challenge regarding the implementation of the programme was to build trust with the learners, who are people facing the greatest risks and challenges due to being homeless and due to their multiple and complex needs. In addition, it is very resource intensive with a high unit cost, as each learner requires high level of support.
OECD (2022), "Future-proofing adult learning systems in cities and regions: A policy manual for local governments", OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Papers, No. 2022/03, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/11fa26cc-en.
