Removing barriers to good work

A new report published this month captures the early impacts of a significant collaboration between Leeds Anchor Network and local community anchor organisations, aimed at addressing inequalities in access to employment across the city.

The report captures how community-led engagement, facilitated through the Leeds Community Anchor Network (LCAN) and supported by the Leeds Anchor Network, has begun to influence local practice, partnerships, and approaches to workforce inclusion.

Listening exercise

In 2023, the Listening Exercise was piloted in three areas of Leeds – Armley, Harehills, and Seacroft – through community anchor organisations New Wortley Community Association, Give a Gift, and LS14 Trust. Each organisation led a programme of community engagement using a structured, asset-based methodology developed by LCAN. This included “postcard chats,” focus groups with local residents, and follow-up activities shaped by what was heard.

Across the participating communities, residents identified a wide range of barriers to employment. These included digital exclusion, language barriers, lack of recognition for overseas qualifications, and challenges navigating existing support systems. The exercise also revealed the resilience, skills, and ambitions of local people, many of whom described a strong desire to contribute meaningfully to their communities and the city more broadly. You can read more about findings of the listening exercise here: Good Jobs Better Health Fairer Futures-Listening-Exercise-Report

What happened next

Following the listening exercise, the project generated a number of tangible outcomes. These include the development of conversation cafes to develop English language skills, community-based digital training, targeted one-to-one employment support, and new volunteering and mentoring pathways, with some of these interventions delivered by or with city anchor institutions as a result of the listening exercise.

Professor Peter Slee, Vice Chancellor of Leeds Beckett University and Chair of Leeds Anchor Network said,

“Leeds anchor organisations are among the largest employers in the city, and we have all made a commitment to providing quality employment for local people.

We know that around 30% of our combined workforce who live in Leeds are in the most disadvantaged areas of the city. Providing good work in these communities is a very important element of our work to deliver inclusive economic growth.

This collaboration with Leeds Community Anchor Network has brought lived insight into the barriers many individuals face in accessing the city’s employment opportunities.  Our anchor partners have heard these challenges directly, and will continue to work with communities to develop initiatives to support people into good employment”.

The report notes that while the project was time-limited, it served as a valuable catalyst – supporting deeper relationships, surfacing lived experience, and reinforcing the importance of locally-rooted, collaborative approaches to tackling inequality.

You can read the full Impact Summary here.

Article written by Meg Russell, Voluntary Action Leeds