An Interview with SEEC

Lily Grouse is a Specialist Healthcare Consultant for the Venn Group, an employment agency dedicated to temporary and interim employment. She interviewed Tracy, Operations Manager for SEEC, to find out how the two organisations are working together. SEEC services are managed and delivered by Twining Enterprise.

SEEC works on the principle that recovery is achievable for all and the right employment can be a key principle in the recovery journey. 

In 2012, Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust seed-funded SEEC as a way of ensuring that their clients would have a support system for easing themselves back into employment during and after using their mental health services. Employment is regarded as part of their recovery plan.

We receive referrals from Job Centre Plus and Oxleas, so if anyone has a connection with the trust we can work with them; we also encourage people to self-refer by ringing the office and talking to any member of the team as an initial point of contact

says Tracy. 

The company is now able to support any resident in the London boroughs of Greenwich, Bexley and Bromley. The success and growth the company has experienced indicates that there is a real need for services of this nature.

Tracy went on to explain those crucial first steps:

The first meeting is to get to know each other; we’re then able to ascertain their goals and aim, if they have one. For a lot of people, that’s actually a terrifying question – sometimes they perceive that as the problem in the first place: not knowing what to do. So, over the next few meetings – depending on the person – we do career tests and look at different options to expand their horizons.

Tracy and her dedicated team are primarily focused on ensuring that their candidates are in the right mind set to feel comfortable with getting back into work. Once this stage has been reached, they are able to facilitate the practical steps towards securing a job.

We explore how to produce a really strong CV or cover letter, how to job search, where to look for work, building links on social media and networking. We can also assist by conducting practice interviews; we’ll invest time researching the role they’ve applied for and will have acquired a copy of the job description so that we can produce some realistic questions based on that job. It’s all about building up resilience and confidence.

As well as being able to assist people themselves, SEEC have been invited to refer people to Venn Group in order to take their job hunt a step further.

On referral, those candidates will be able to discuss their short and long-term career goals with a recruitment consultant at Venn Group who specialises in the sector of interest. As the UK’s only company dedicated to the provision of contract staff to organisations in both the private and public sectors, we have built a reputation of quality and professionalism among the clients we work with and the candidates we place.

The fact that SEEC are able to offer this referral on top of their services is a fantastic opportunity for those who are ready to resume work. SEEC are one of the first companies of their kind and it’s wonderful to witness such good social enterprises gaining momentum and support. Their services significantly help to create equality of care for physical and mental health. Meanwhile Venn Group are committed to ensuring that we’re doing what we can to promote such important work.

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