The New Steps and the New Futures Employability Programmes are free and provide lone parents with the skills and support they need to progress to education and employment. Everyone who participates on our programmes has access to regular one-to-one support from a key worker and other wraparound family supports.
We understand the experience of parenting alone and sharing parenting and how challenging it can be to move back into education or find fulfilling employment. Our Employability programmes have been designed for lone parents who want to return to or begin education and or work but are not sure where to start.
One Family is Ireland’s organisation for people parenting alone, sharing parenting, and separating. We were established in 1972 as Cherish and provide specialist parenting, therapeutic and family support services around Ireland. You can learn more about our work on our website here.
The One Family Programmes Service provides adult education and training to people parenting alone or sharing parenting. The service aims to develop and provide a range of best practice employability programmes that empower people to take the next steps into education or work.
In 2019 and again in 2023, the New Futures Employability project won the AONTAS Special Recognition STAR Award for an ESF Initiative for making an outstanding contribution to adult learning. The STAR Awards are an initiative by AONTAS as part of the annual Adult Learners’ Festival to acknowledge the fantastic work undertaken by adult learning initiatives throughout Ireland.
We commenced delivery of New Steps and New Futures via online delivery in September 2020 and since then have further enhanced and adapted the programmes for online delivery to include facilitated Zoom classes, this purpose-built online learning platform and online wraparound supports & key working. We also intend to return to face-to-face delivery of our programmes in the future.
One Family’s employability and education programmes are part supported by funding received under the Gender Equality Activity of the European Social Fund (ESF) Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning 2014-2020 (‘PEIL’) and the Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) programme 2014-2020.
The ESF PEIL Gender Equality Activity aims to promote social inclusion and combat discrimination in the labour market. The EaSI programme aims to promote a high level of quality and sustainable employment, guaranteeing adequate and decent social protection, combating social exclusion, poverty, and improving working conditions.
