Apex Stranraer

Employability Fund
The Employability Fund is a national employability group-based programme on Stage 2 of the employability pipeline (and stage 3 in the Scottish Borders). This course delivers the SCQF ASDAN qualification at level 3 and is worth a minimum of 18 credit points for the participant.
Besides delivering the ASDAN qualification, the main role is to remove any personal barriers that may affect the individual to allow them to move on to the next stage of the pipeline, which may be employment, further education, or training.
The service is for 16-24 year olds who are not in education, training or employment, and have passed their official school leaving date.
16-17 year olds are referred via Skills Development Scotland
18-24 year olds are referred via Jobcentre Plus and DWP

Moving In
As part of our ongoing participation in the local community, starter packs are provided for people on benefits or low incomes.
The starter packs we provide can contain bedding, towels, mugs, pots, cutlery and crockery. The goods are a mixture of new and second hand. We rely on donations from members of the public and also fundraise to buy goods. We can also give toiletries, toys and clothes for interviews or other important life events.
This service is available to anyone on benefits, low income or in crisis.
Referrals can be self-referrals or from DGHP and other agencies such as housing providers and the D&G Health Partnership.

Moving On
The Moving On service is for people with a history of offending or are at risk of offending. It is tailored to the needs of the individual to help them move closer to sustaining employment, training or education.

Personal Development Mentors help individuals to address issues such as offending behaviour, employability, literacy & numeracy, communication, and inter-personal skills as well as offering a more specialist learning in areas such as the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and disclosure of offences.

This service is for individuals over 16 who have multiple barriers to employment such as those at risk of (re)offending.

Referrals can be made through Criminal Justice and other agencies as well as self-referrals.

SHINE – Women’s Mentoring Service
SHINE is the national public social partnership for reducing re-offending in women offenders. SHINE provides mentoring services with a range of agencies including Sacro, Circle and Turning Point Scotland.

SHINE provides a mentoring service for a minimum of 6 months in the community. Women in prison can also be supported for up to 6 weeks pre-release.
SHINE provides support to mentor women through difficult periods of transition, to promote stability and to integrate them into communities. Apex helps individuals to identify main issues and priorities to help develop strong relationships and experience progress.

SHINE exists to support women:
• Serving a sentence of less than 4 years not subject to statutory supervision
• On remand
• At a high risk of breaching their Community Payback Order (CPO)

SHINE is a voluntary service. It can be accessed through contact with a Criminal Justice Social Worker or a Prison Officer, or through any other support agency. Self-referrals are also welcome.
Steps
This ESF funded service assists those who have multiple barriers to employment or who are long term unemployed. Our objective is for each individual to complete their action plan by moving into employment, training, more advanced qualifications or progression to stage 3 providers on the Employability Pipeline.
An Apex Personal Development Mentor will work with each person and agree an action plan, reviewed at regular intervals, created together to address any barriers while building on the individual’s strengths and skills.  We will support each person to achieve specific milestones to ensure they progress towards full time employment, education, training or accessing other employment support.
Some elements we will assist with include:
• benefits requirements (including signing up for Universal Jobmatch)
• letters of disclosure
• Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
• registration with health professionals
• opening bank accounts
• progression into volunteering or work experience
• opportunities to achieve recognised vocational qualifications such as CSCS card

Our Steps service is support offered to participants who have multiple barriers to employment or are long term unemployed.
Barriers (other than being long term unemployed) can include:
• having criminal convictions
• mental health issues
• Looked after young person
• Migrants
• From employment deprived areas
• Living in a jobless household
• Armed forces veteran
• Low income employed
• Substance related conditions
This list is not exhaustive and a call to your local Apex team can give more details on qualifying criteria.

Referrals are not restricted to a particular source for this service, and can include self-referrals, as long as participants are facing two of the noted barriers. Please telephone or email your local Apex office for more information.

U Turn
The U-Turn service focuses on volunteering and group work, offering people the opportunity to increase their self-confidence and gain work experience and skills. It has been developed to complement the Moving On service to offer training, knowledge and understanding in a relaxed and friendly group environment. The service is funded by the Big Lottery.

There are a variety of groups which take place both in the local unit as well as opportunities to volunteer with the group on local projects. Volunteering opportunities in the community are led by Apex staff and can be as diverse as artwork to IT skills, healthy eating to working in a hospital garden.

This service is for individuals over the age of 16 who have multiple barriers to employment, such as those at risk of (re)offending.

Referrals are made via Criminal Justice and other partnership agencies such as health professionals, Jobcentre Plus and SDS. Individuals can also self-refer.

Women’s Group
Dumfries and Galloway runs two women’s groups which offers support and guidance to those who require some extra encouragement with their life skills.
• Cookery Classes
• Discovering Good Health
• Introduction to Fitness
• Peer Support
• Introduction to other Apex services to help with additional support needs

This service is for any women who requires additional support with their life skills. The classes are also recognised as part participation of a community payback order.

Criminal justice social work can make referrals to the Dumfries and Stranraer teams but women are also welcome to self-refer.

Work Programme Disclosure Service
This 3 day programme covers all aspects of having a criminal record when applying for work.

Apex provides detailed information about the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the impact of previous offending on future employment options. Day 3 of training is delivered in partnership with Resource 3 who provide employability advice and present potential opportunities to clients.

This programme is solely available to individuals with criminal records who attend the Work Programme.

Referrals are made through the Work Programme provider or one of their sub-contractors.