The Somers Town Job Hub has been driven by community needs from the outset. For too long, regeneration models have been ‘top down’ approaches in this deprived part of London, perceived as being parachuted in with no long term viability or gain; and to the detriment of existing groups. The Business Education and Employment Group (Beet Group) of the Somers Town Neighbourhood Forum were asked to undertake research into the barriers to employment for the BAME community in  Somers Town by Camden Councils Economic Development team, it was decided that STCA would lead this piece of research into the employment and employability issues facing local people in Somers Town.

In a break with traditional research methods, STCA employed its Community Organisers to undertake the primary research. The underpinning ethos of the approach was that it should be conceived as and delivered from a community level perspective. Community ownership was a fundamental part of the project that would contribute to supporting local people to bring about self determined positive change. The research identified a range of barriers as well as solutions that have inspired the Job Hub development. Crucially, local residents were trained up as Community Organisers and using the Root Solution Listening Matters methodology as local residents themselves were able to reach people in the community who would not normally participate in such research, which ensured the model chosen for the Somers Town Job Hub was one that they would engage with and there in is the reason for its subsequent success and why Camden Council used the model as part of their Good Work Camden.

The research findings, were published in a report called ‘Work It Out – Access to employment in Somers Town’