Get Oldham Working wins national award at prestigious Employment Related Services Association (ERSA) Awards

Oldham's own employment scheme has beaten national giants to win the Tailored Employment Support Award at the 2025 ERSA Employability Awards. The council-run Get Oldham Working programme outpaced firms like Reed, G4S and Maximus in a field of more than 250 entries, taking the top prize for the way it designs help around each resident.

Since 2013 the service has opened 21,600 job or training spots and guided 16,500 local people into paid work. It keeps the offer personal: the GOW Wardrobe lends interview clothes, GOW Therapy funds 26 weeks of one-to-one clinical support, and the annual Jobs Fair this year put 2,200 residents in front of 54 live recruiters.

Council leader Arooj Shah said the award proves the town's decision to keep provision in-house pays off. Cabinet member Fida Hussain added that being rooted in neighbourhood centres, not distant call centres, lets staff spot barriers early and join up with local groups such as Action Together.

The programme was shortlisted in five other categories, showing judges were impressed across the board. With Whitehall now rolling out its Get Britain Working plan, Oldham hopes the same model can shape national policy.