COATBRIDGE WOMEN FLYING HIGH WITH BACK-TO-WORK SUPPORT GROUP

A group of women from Coatbridge have set up their own self-help group to support unemployed women back into the workplace.

The KITE Group was founded by eight Coatbridge residents who met on a Personal Development course at CumbernauldCollege.  The course, which they found through the North Lanarkshire's Working initiative, focused on building confidence, self-esteem and community.

When it ended, the eight women who took part decided to use the skills they had gained to form their own self-help group with the aim of engaging the local community and helping each other back into employment.

Donna Fennessay, 30, is chairperson of the group and is confident that it will be a success.  She explained:

"The aim of the group is to build a community of women with the same goal - getting into the workplace.  We've already taken great steps towards helping each other set employment targets and work out how we can achieve them.

"Everyone in the group has been out of work for a while so we know how it feels and we can help each other build the confidence to approach employers.  This involves trying to sort out some of the things that can prevent people finding work, for example, difficulty finding affordable childcare, and also looking at what we can do to make us more suitable for the workplace, such as CV preparation and interview skills."

The KITE Group is supported by Coatbridge Neighbourhood Centre, where the group meetings are held once a week.  The group focuses on a different theme each week to help women cope with any issues which might be preventing them from getting into employment or training, such as childcare or lack of skills.

Maureen McConachie, Head of Regeneration Services at North Lanarkshire Council, said: "The KITE group is a great example of how people can overcome barriers to the workplace by focusing on the skills necessary to find employment.  Confidence and positive mental attitude are key qualities and the North Lanarkshire's Working initiative has clearly given this group of women the inspiration to help others in this respect."

For more information on the KITE Group and meeting times, please contact the Coatbridge Neighbourhood Centre on 01236 638471.