GMCA appoints Working Well (Work and Health Programme) provider

InWork GM is a new alliance partnership between Ingeus and The Growth Company and also includes Pathways CIC and Pluss; specialist health, wellbeing and disability support organisations. 

As part of the 2014 Devolution agreement; Greater Manchester received devolved powers for the commissioning of the Work and Health Programme from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).  Through these devolved powers, the GMCA is now able to extend the scope and the reach of the Working Well (Work and Health Programme), meaning total funding of £52 million will be available through the programme support to over 22,000 individuals in Greater Manchester between 2018 and 2024. The programme is part-financed by the European Social Fund.

The new Working Well (Work and Health Programme) will support people who are out of work due to poor health and disabilities, and will build on Greater Manchester’s successful Working Well programme. It has been designed to respond to one of Greater Manchester’s strategic aims to reduce long term unemployment and help more residents into sustained employment.

The Working Well (Work and Health Programme) programme will continue to fundamentally change how skills, health and employment services work together across Greater Manchester, by offering a seamless, co-ordinated and sequenced package of support to individuals to help them to address specific barriers and challenges that make it difficult to move forward.

The programme will take a holistic approach to supporting individuals into quality employment and will offer support for participants and offer access to a range of skills support, work experience, employment support and support with psycho-social issues. Greater Manchester also wants to ensure that individuals and employers are supported to sustain work and increase their earnings potential.

The Working Well (Work and Health Programme) will launch at the end of January, when the provider will start taking referrals to the programme from Jobcentre Plus.