Guest Post: ‘Smart Works is, at its heart, a community dedicated to supporting and empowering women in their professional pursuits.’

[NicolaDMumsnet]

After 10 years of working in the fashion industry, I was ready for a career change. I had experienced first-hand the negative impact fashion has had on the environment but also on the wellbeing of so many women looking to aspire to its often unattainable standards.

That’s when I discovered Smart Works, an organisation that lets me combine my love of creativity and clothing with empowering women and those in need of help getting into work.

The women we support at Smart Works are at the greatest risk of economic hardship, discrimination and exclusion from the workplace. 40% of our clients are lone mothers and we hear every day the profound impact extended time out of work due to parenting commitments has had on our clients’ confidence in securing future employment.

This is where our service comes in. We use the power of high-quality clothing and one-to-one coaching to help women see their true potential and succeed at interviews. After their appointment 93% of our clients feel more confident. Personally, this evident and amazing change is what inspired me to join Smart Works - seeing fashion used as a force for good has been such a rewarding opportunity.

In terms of the broader impact of our service, 72% of women secure a job within a month of visiting us. For our clients that are mothers, securing a job and financial independence isn’t just transformative for them, it changes the trajectory of their lives and, in turn, the lives of their family and ultimately their community.

Smart Works is, at its heart, a community dedicated to supporting and empowering women in their professional pursuits. We treat every woman as an individual and give her the safe space she needs, listening without judgement. We are powered by skilled and empathetic volunteers, united by a mission to help all women realise their potential.

Volunteering is how I was first introduced to Smart Works. I worked as one of our dressing volunteers in our beautiful wardrobe of high-quality donated clothing. From my first day volunteering I knew Smart Works was an organisation I wanted to be a part of - the change you witness in the clients each day has a genuine magic. As a dressing volunteer I had the wonderful job of helping to select and style interview outfits for our clients, working with them to find an outfit that they feel like the very best version of themselves in. The outfit is free of charge and hers to keep!

Our coaching volunteers help our clients to prepare for interviews, helping them to understand what is expected at the interview, understand how to answer questions effectively and sending them away more aware of their own strengths and skills.

I am delighted to announce that we are currently recruiting a whole new group of volunteers for the new Smart Works centre in Croydon.

As the new centre manager, I am passionate about growing the new team I will be working with. I would love to draw upon the many skilled and empathetic individuals in the Mumsnet community. If you are interested in applying for one of these new voluntary roles at Smart Works, please visit our website.

Steph is the South London Service Delivery Manager at Smart Works, a dynamic, high profile, and fast-growing UK charity that dresses and coaches unemployed women for success at their job interview. As South London Service Delivery Manager, Steph is responsible for successfully expanding the delivery of our transformative service into South London, including managing the brand-new centre in Croydon.

Twitter: @smartworksHQ
Website: smartworks.org.uk/

Steph will return to this post on Monday 12th December to answer any questions

[Flurbegurb]

Absolutely brilliant idea with such an enormous impact. Good luck with gaining new volunteers.