Islington Council hosts employment ‘speed-dating’ as part of Adult Learners' Week

Local job-seekers and employers had the chance to get to know each other at a jobs ‘speed-dating’ event, hosted by Islington Council as part of Adult Learners’ Week 2015.

Ten locally-based employers, including The Cooperative and leisure services provider GLL, met 20 adult learners in a series of five minute ‘meet and interview’ sessions. 

The sessions – facilitated by the Council’s coaching and mentoring scheme, iWork, and its Adult and Community Learning (ACL) service –  were held at the Town Hall on Wednesday 17 June 2015.

After each ‘date’, both prospective employer and aspiring employee were asked to rate each other’s professional compatibility, with Islington Council then helping to arrange possible matches.

The job-seekers had all previously completed vocational courses offered by the Council’s ACL service. Council courses are free for low waged or unemployed Islington residents or parents with children in Islington schools. Every year the ACL service offers over 500 free courses to more than 2,500 local people.

Cllr Asima Shaikh, Islington Council’s executive member for economic and community development, said: “Helping people to get and keep a job is the single best way to reduce poverty and improve lives.

“As a council, our ambition is to ensure our residents receive the help they need to get the job they want, deserve, and will ultimately enjoy. Events like this – bringing together enthusiastic and open-minded employers with loyal and local potential employees – are vital to boosting employment in Islington.”  

“We’d like to thank all the employers and jobseekers who got involved and took part on the day.”  

One participant, from Tufnell Park, said: "It's been a great help. All the companies sound promising... If it helps people back to work that's a bonus." Stacey Kasongo, from Holloway, added: "I think Islington [Council] should organise more events like this." 

The event followed a similarly-styled networking session, called Aspire 2015, which was aimed at young people aged 18-24 and held at the Resource Centre on Holloway Road in February this year.

The jobs speed-dating sessions are part of a wider push by Islington Council to work with businesses to create jobs and apprenticeships for local people and help residents find the right job. 

Last year the Islington Employment Commission, set up by the Council, published recommendations on tackling worklessness in the borough. Despite a vibrant local economy and 1.3 jobs for every working age resident, unemployment in the borough is higher than the London average.

Read more information about Adult and Community Learning in Islington.