bpha has been rewarded for helping unemployed housing association residents get back into work.

Its Employment Support scheme has been awarded the Matrix Standard in official recognition of its high quality service. This means that bpha is eligible to bid for future funding for Employment Support from projects that are only open to Matrix accredited organisations.

Peter Rayner, Employment Support Coordinator at bpha, said: “This award is evidence that we have made some great strides in improving and developing our Employment Support service over the past year.

“The assessment day went off perfectly and we achieved the desired Matrix Accreditation two months ahead of our target date which is a fantastic result and will further assist us in enabling many individuals to improve their prospects for employment.”

The Employment Support project has been running since 2003 and gives residents individually tailored help to decide what they want to do, and then provides them with the support they need to reach their goals. It is aimed at any tenant who needs to improve their skills in order to find a job, or those who have been adversely affected by the current financial crisis.

The Matrix accreditation will help bpha build on its already successful employment support model and will allow the continued delivery of high quality CV writing and interview skill sessions, as well as careers advice, job search facilities and relevant training.