Opening of The Hive in Oldham.
August 2024
People who are furthest from employment face multiple, overlapping barriers — including mental health difficulties, lack of qualifications, caring responsibilities, long-term unemployment and geography. Addressing these barriers requires a coordinated response that no single organisation can provide alone.
The Cheshire Enterprise Start-Up programme brought together 20 different partner organisations — including local authorities, housing associations, employment services, community organisations and the voluntary sector — under Upturn’s coordination to support people in Cheshire who were furthest from employment.
Upturn’s role was both coordinator and direct deliverer — designing the collaborative framework, maintaining partner alignment, delivering employment and enterprise support directly to participants, and managing the overall outcome and reporting framework.
The programme offered a menu of integrated support — employment coaching, enterprise training, mental health and wellbeing support, community engagement, and employer liaison. Participants could access the right combination of support for their individual situation, at the right pace, without being rushed through a predetermined pathway.
“Twenty different partner organisations came together to support people in Cheshire who are furthest from employment. Upturn’s coordination was central to the success of this programme. The outputs have been numerous — the impacts truly significant for individuals, families and entire communities. — Programme Manager, Cheshire Enterprise Start-Up”