Supporting Staff at Risk of Redundancy: Reskilling Your Workforce

Jo Holland, Employer Engagement Manager at Transition to Teach, spoke to the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter about how the Department for Education-funded service can support exiting employees into an exciting new teaching career. 

Where should employers start?

Down-sizing and restructuring are particularly challenging times for employers, especially when they lead to job losses. Many employers want to do the right thing to support affected staff and most offer support with preparing CVs, job search and interview techniques. Some companies go even further to support their staff by proactively seeking and sharing job opportunities, such as opportunities within the teaching profession. 

Sometimes employers can be wary about being seen to promote one career over another. We always explain that it's not about promoting a particular career, but more about giving staff at risk of redundancy possible avenues to explore.  

Teaching isn't for everyone, our job is to raise awareness of teaching as a credible career opportunity for employees at risk of redundancy and help them decide if it is for them. It's about Transition to Teach being there when companies need us. We might hear nothing at all from an organisation and then, a year later, they get in touch, perhaps because redundancies have been confirmed. 

Some sectors have been particularly affected by the pandemic and there has certainly been more interest from companies for the Transition to Teach programme. Some employers will bring in outplacement companies, and we'll work alongside outplacement teams, as well as careers advisers and job centres. 

What support does Transition to Teach offer?

Once companies have an active redundancy situation, Transition to Teach offer support in a variety of ways. 

The first step is usually to set up a meeting, find out timescales, share our employer pack and find out how the company wants us to support them. In many cases the company will just take this information and disseminate it to staff, but others will ask for more support. For example, we recently provided a private webinar for a client in the travel industry and we also support army resettlement on an ongoing basis. 

Some staff experience redundancy rounds every year, sometimes multiple times each year. The coronavirus pandemic is causing people from all sectors to re-evaluate their careers, not just those at risk of redundancy. 

Read the full article at https://bit.ly/3dQFrnt.