Eight Rotary clubs in the London Borough of Bromley have created the Rotary Work Club. This is a free, online course for the unemployed, or those who feel at risk of unemployment.
Participants learn useful skills to help them to gain new employment or to start a business.
“The circumstances of the Coronavirus pandemic make a job search especially challenging,” explained organiser Christine Atkinson.
“The Rotary Work Club helps job seekers do themselves full justice when applying and prospective business owners to have the confidence and knowledge to get off to a good start.
“The Rotary Work Club is also beneficial to the mental health of participants.
The circumstances of the Coronavirus pandemic make a job search especially challenging,”
“Rotary clubs tackle many issues that concern local communities, and the issue of suddenly rising and drastic unemployment is one of the biggest problems society faces.”
The initiative was founded by Rotarian Christine Atkinson and echoes a similar, successful Rotary Club project from the 1980’s.
The newest course kicks off on April 12 with a session from Zeenat Noorani at Vida De La Mariposa Coaching entitled:
“Get back on your feet and build your confidence”.
Other subjects will look at sorting your finances, writing a killer CV, how to search successfully for a job, interviewing skills, how to use social media to promote yourself, as well as advice on starting a new business.
In addition, there are coffee mornings acting as get-togethers and question and answer sessions.
The Rotary Work Club in Bromley started last October, and there have been two courses, either side of Christmas.
Rotary clubs tackle many issues that concern local communities, and the issue of suddenly rising and drastic unemployment is one of the biggest problems society faces.”
Christine said that feedback from their previous courses run during the pandemic has shown that attendees have enhanced their job chances and, in some cases, found employment.
“Prospective business owners have been emboldened to continue their planning with better information, resources, and confidence,” added Christine.
The session content has been deliberately made modular and portable so that the model created by Bromley’s Rotary Work Club can serve more people in other local areas.
She explained that their trained volunteer facilitators come from many different professional and business backgrounds and experience.
“They share the same purpose – to help our club members to succeed in finding a job or starting a business that is right for them,” explained Christine, who is hoping the idea might be a catalyst for other Rotary clubs to copy.
- Read April’s Rotary magazine which looks behind the scenes of the Rotary Work Club.
