People from low-income backgrounds are being given the opportunity to rent clothes from Brixton library for job interviews or bank meetings.
It’s part of Lambeth Council’s wider approach Lambeth council are taking on various projects to fight unemployment, and this initiative aims to help people make the right first impression for job interviews and important meetings with their banks.
Councillor Sonia Winifred, the cabinet member for equalities and culture for Lambeth Council, said that this is one of many initiatives by the council in tackling unemployment.
“Throughout the life of a council you are always trying to tackle unemployment and supporting families on low income.
“I hope that it will continue and be of huge benefit to families on low income, and those families are people of all ages who want to take that next step and borrow that clothing.”
This comes after the new Office for National Statistics report on the UK labour force shows that the number of unemployed people across the UK has increased by 22,000 in the last quarter of this year, and the number of job vacancies has fallen to the lowest level since 2017.
The scheme was set up in partnership with I Hate Ironing, a dry cleaning and laundry service in Brixton, after they realised they had a large amount of clothing that had never been collected by customers.
They are hoping to continue sourcing clothes as the project progresses, as well as collecting and cleaning the clothing after it has been used.
“Clothing is particularly helpful in tackling unemployment because as someone who interviews potential candidates every week for roles in I hate ironing, I know that how somebody feels has a real impact on how confident they are and therefore how well they do in an interview process,” said CEO and founder Matt Connelly.
“If someone doesn’t have the right clothes for an interview it can make them reluctant to go to the interview in the first place and secondly, once someone is at the interview if they look good, they will feel better and they will be more confident and be better able to give the best impression of themselves in the interview.”
The clothing is available to anyone with a library card and is being stored in the basement, where there are screens so people can try outfits on in private.
This project is part of a wider strand of initiatives by Brixton Library to help jobseekers in the area, which includes such activities as CV workshops, presentation skills and interview preparation.
“Unfortunately, people do judge a book by its cover however much we like to pretend that doesn’t happen. They do say that people make up their minds about a candidate in the first few seconds by their initial impression. And I think this project with the clothes will help with that a lot because people can dress ins something smart that they might not be able to afford themselves,” Development Librarian, Abibat Olulode told City News.
The initiative has also secured a grant from London City Airport’s Community Fund, and the money awarded will be used to expand the selection of clothes available to cater for people of all shapes and sizes.
“This additional money will enable us to buy a few accessories maybe ties and belts, and also to buy clothes for people who might not fit into the normal range of the clothing that has been donated so far. We want to cater for everybody,” said Ms Olulode.
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HeadlineJobseekers to be loaned professional clothes in new Lambeth council initiative
Short HeadlineJobseekers loaned professional clothes in Lambeth
StandfirstBrixton Library is offering individuals the chance to rent clothing for up to four days for job interviews or bank meetings.
People from low-income backgrounds are being given the opportunity to rent clothes from Brixton library for job interviews or bank meetings, in a programme launched by Lambeth council and Brixton-based company, ihateironing.
Lambeth council are taking on various projects to fight unemployment, and this initiative aims to help people make the right first impression for job interviews and important meetings with their banks.
Councillor Sonia Winifred, the cabinet member for equalities and culture for Lambeth council, said that this is one of many initiatives by the council in tackling unemployment.
‘Throughout the life of a council you are always trying to tackle unemployment and supporting families on low income.
‘I hope that it will continue and be of huge benefit to families on low income, and those families are people of all ages who want to take that next step and borrow that clothing.’
This comes after the new Office for National Statistics’ report on the UK labour force shows that the number of unemployed people across the UK has increased by 22,000 in the last quarter of this year, and the number of job vacancies has fallen to the lowest level since 2017.
The scheme was set up in partnership with ihateironing, a dry cleaning and laundry service in Brixton, after they realised they had a collection of clothing that had never been collected by customers. They are hoping to continue sourcing clothes as the project progresses, as well as collecting and cleaning the clothing after it has been used.
CEO and founder of ihateironing, Matt Connelly, says ‘clothing is particularly helpful in tackling unemployment because as someone who interviews potential candidates every week for roles in I hate ironing, I know that how somebody feels has a real impact on how confident they are and therefore how well they do in an interview process.
If someone doesn’t have the right clothes for an interview it can make them reluctant to go to the interview in the first place and secondly, once someone is at the interview if they look good, they will feel better and they will be more confident and be better able to give the best impression of themselves in the interview.’
The clothing is available to anyone with a library card and is being stored in the basement, where there are screens so people can try outfits on in private. This project is part of a wider strand of initiatives by Brixton Library to help jobseekers in the area, which includes such activities as CV workshops, presentation skills and interview preparation.
Development Librarian, Abibat Olulode, says, ‘unfortunately, people do judge a book by its cover however much we like to pretend that doesn’t happen. They do say that people make up their minds about a candidate in the first few seconds by their initial impression. And I think this project with the clothes will help with that a lot because people can dress ins something smart that they might not be able to afford themselves.’
Brixton Library
The initiative has also secured a grant from London City Airport’s Community Fund, and the money awarded will be used to expand the selection of clothes available to cater for people of all shapes and sizes.
Abibat says, ‘This additional money will enable us to buy a few accessories maybe ties and belts, and also to buy clothes for people who might not fit into the normal range of the clothing that has been donated so far. We want to cater for everybody.’
Lambeth Councillor, Rebecca Thackray, is enthusiastic about the programme, arguing that it could help reduce unemployment in Lambeth in a sustainable way.
She says, ‘This project repurposes clothing which otherwise gets a short shelf life and it’s great to marry the need for interview clothing with the availability of this stock supplied by ihateironing. This is an imaginative initiative which brings it all together.’
Mr Connelly hopes that if the project is a success in Brixton, he will be able to expand the scheme to other libraries across London.
‘First and foremost we want to do it well here in Brixton and learn from the things we do here and If we can make it a real success here and change people’s lives and give people greater opportunities then we would certainly like to do it on a wider scale.
People from low-income backgrounds are being given the opportunity to rent clothes from Brixton library for job interviews or bank meetings.
It’s part of Lambeth Council’s wider approach Lambeth council are taking on various projects to fight unemployment, and this initiative aims to help people make the right first impression for job interviews and important meetings with their banks.
Councillor Sonia Winifred, the cabinet member for equalities and culture for Lambeth Council, said that this is one of many initiatives by the council in tackling unemployment.
“Throughout the life of a council you are always trying to tackle unemployment and supporting families on low income.
“I hope that it will continue and be of huge benefit to families on low income, and those families are people of all ages who want to take that next step and borrow that clothing.”
This comes after the new Office for National Statistics report on the UK labour force shows that the number of unemployed people across the UK has increased by 22,000 in the last quarter of this year, and the number of job vacancies has fallen to the lowest level since 2017.
The scheme was set up in partnership with I Hate Ironing, a dry cleaning and laundry service in Brixton, after they realised they had a large amount of clothing that had never been collected by customers.
They are hoping to continue sourcing clothes as the project progresses, as well as collecting and cleaning the clothing after it has been used.
“Clothing is particularly helpful in tackling unemployment because as someone who interviews potential candidates every week for roles in I hate ironing, I know that how somebody feels has a real impact on how confident they are and therefore how well they do in an interview process,” said CEO and founder Matt Connelly.
“If someone doesn’t have the right clothes for an interview it can make them reluctant to go to the interview in the first place and secondly, once someone is at the interview if they look good, they will feel better and they will be more confident and be better able to give the best impression of themselves in the interview.”
The clothing is available to anyone with a library card and is being stored in the basement, where there are screens so people can try outfits on in private.
This project is part of a wider strand of initiatives by Brixton Library to help jobseekers in the area, which includes such activities as CV workshops, presentation skills and interview preparation.
“Unfortunately, people do judge a book by its cover however much we like to pretend that doesn’t happen. They do say that people make up their minds about a candidate in the first few seconds by their initial impression. And I think this project with the clothes will help with that a lot because people can dress ins something smart that they might not be able to afford themselves,” Development Librarian, Abibat Olulode told City News.
The initiative has also secured a grant from London City Airport’s Community Fund, and the money awarded will be used to expand the selection of clothes available to cater for people of all shapes and sizes.
“This additional money will enable us to buy a few accessories maybe ties and belts, and also to buy clothes for people who might not fit into the normal range of the clothing that has been donated so far. We want to cater for everybody,” said Ms Olulode.
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