We offer each member of our community, in partnership with statutory and local stakeholders such as Barking and Dagenham College, an opportunity to become skilled and ready for work.

WOI has over 10 years' experience of engaging and working with the community and employers to create sustainable employment through skills development. Our training programmes have offered a wide range of skills targeted at the unemployed, hard to reach and excluded groups. We have developed specialist assessment and guidance services specifically designed to meet the needs of people facing multiple barriers to learning and employment, including people from ethnic minority communities having language and cultural barriers.

Our work has contributed to local, regional and national improvements in growth and competitiveness through 10 years of delivering flagship skills and employment projects in London accounting for over £10 million of public funds.

We have extensive experience of delivering academic projects of various sizes and complexity and key achievements include:

• supporting demand-led training/development of over 5,000 individuals/students using audited, time-structured, quality assured mechanisms;
• delivering a European Social Fund (ESF) partnership programme delivering Skills for Life, Health/Social Care/Business Administration; and a new Training contract of nearly £600,000;
• franchised public-funded education (on behalf of Barking College)
• delivery of approximately £10 of publicly-funded training, audited and managed by several government bodies

New developments for the community
WOI is working with leaders in local education to provide innovative training and currently we are focusing on the development of two projects:

• A Sports/Leisure Academy that covers the full range of sports-related careers from coaching to customer service
• Modern IT and media training- geared to the interests of young people

Employer engagement and operational excellence
Employer engagement and work-based learning are key strengths: we have established joint employer linkages with other partners strengthening diversity in the workplace and helping to match beneficiary supply with employer demand. We manage these provisions effectively by offering joined-up services across the organisation from assessment, through induction, training and learner support, to job search and job placements. Client information is securely and appropriately documented: assessments, induction, service agreement, individual training plan, reviews, attendance, time sheets, relevant funder documentation, and outcome evidence. We comply with the provisions of Data Protection Act, and are committed to diversity and equality requirements