Working Gateshead information, advice and guidance policy

Statement of Service

Business, Employment and Skills is responsible for leading the Council's efforts to create a strong, sustainable and inclusive economy. We work in collaboration with other council services and a range of partners across the policy areas that drive growth - the business environment, labour market and physical infrastructure - with the aim of boosting prosperity and reducing economic inequality.

Our Vision

"Making Gateshead a place where everyone thrives"

• Put people and families at the heart of everything we do
• Tackle inequality so people have a fair chance
• Support our communities to support themselves and each other
• Invest in our economy to provide opportunities for employment, innovation and growth
• Work together and fight for a better future for Gateshead

Our Values

• Integrity - We will always work with integrity - demonstrating fairness and respect every day and in every way

• Inclusive - We will be inclusive - one council working together and engaging people to get better results and ensure equality of opportunity

• Inspirational - We will be inspirational - thinking creatively, being dynamic and motivating and empowering everyone to do the things that make a real difference for the people of Gateshead

Our Purpose

We aim to help and support residents to achieve their work, learning and personal development goals by providing appropriate and timely information, advice and guidance and support to help people make informed choices.

The Business Employment and Skills Employment Services Team helps Gateshead residents access the right support at the right time to lead fulfilling working lives.

Free information advice and guidance is available to all residents and we work locally and regionally with partners to help ensure people can access employment and skills support whatever their circumstances.

Our services are assessed and measured in accordance with the national matrix quality standard and we are committed to delivering information advice and guidance against the Standard.

The services we deliver are impartial, reflect individual needs and circumstances and are clearly defined.
 

Information:

• Accurate, up-to-date, resources, facts and data that empower people to make decisions and choices about work, learning and personal development
• Providing information about support services that can help with a range of needs
   

Advice:

• Exploring options and suggesting courses of action; contributing towards decision making
• Explaining how to access and use information
   

Guidance:

• Helping people to be self aware
• Challenging expectations to drive progress
• Supporting people to develop new perspectives
   

Accessing our services

Our team of trained coaches support Gateshead residents who would like to find a job or have started to think about work as an option for the future.

We provide support face to face but can also use email, telephone and social media.

How you can help us

• Provide us with as much relevant information as you can so we can work out the best way to help, for example letting us know if you have a disability or need information in an accessible format
• Keep in touch, for example let us know if your circumstances change or if we need to update your contact details
   

Our commitments to you

We will:

• Operate to the matrix standard when providing you with information, advice and guidance
• Follow the Council's Equal Opportunities Policy, creating conditions whereby people are treated equally and fairly regardless of gender, gender reassignment, colour, ethnic or national origin, age, marriage or civil partnership, socio-economic background, disability, religious or political beliefs, family circumstance or sexual orientation.
   

Confidentiality

To provide the best possible service, we keep a record of your personal information, your progress and how we are working together.  This information can only be accessed by authorised staff.

In line with the Council's Data Protection Policy, we will take appropriate measures to ensure that your information cannot be used by anyone outside of the Council.  Your personal information will:

• be processed fairly and lawfully
• only be processed for specified and lawful purposes
• be adequate, relevant for the purpose and not excessive
• be accurate and where necessary, kept up to date
• not be kept for longer than is necessary
• be processed in accordance with the data subjects rights
• be kept secure
• not be transferred to other third parties or countries without adequate protection for the rights and freedoms of the data subject

For more information please visit our data protection page.
 

Feedback, comments and complaints

We are committed to developing and improving the quality of our services and regularly use evaluation surveys tailored to the programmes we deliver to find out if our customers are satisfied with the service they have received.

We welcome any comments you have which will help us to improve our services. You can provide feedback by email, post or phone.

We hope that you are happy with the service you receive but if you are not then we will investigate and put things right. If you have a complaint then we will treat it in confidence and will do our best to resolve it fairly and quickly.

For more information please visit  our complaints page.