Free career opportunities for women living in Heston and Cranford

The programme offers tailored career advice and guidance to women who are over the age of 18 and live in North Hyde and North Cranford. It includes CV support, local job searches and access to pathways to employment including volunteering.  

To help women facing employment barriers such as poor health or caring responsibilities, Work Hounslow, supported by the Council’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team, is delivering a targeted employment support programme until March 2026.

Women living in North Hyde and North Cranford, with a home postcode beginning with either TW5 9 or UB2 5, can express their interest in joining the programme via the Work Hounslow website here.

Upon registration, Work Hounslow team will contact eligible participants to invite them to drop-in sessions and one-to-one meetings with employment advisors. These sessions offer free career advice and guidance, including:

• Career-goal setting and personalised-action plans

• Local job searches and access pathways to volunteering and more

• CV writing and application support

• Interview preparations and practice

• Confidence building for employment

The employer engagement team is also working with local businesses and organisations to identify live job vacancies, volunteering roles, work trials and to co-create pathways to employment. These opportunities aim to provide real work experience and support upskilling or reskilling.

In addition to this targeted initiative, Work Hounslow offers free employment support across the borough for eligible residents aged 18 and over. This includes fortnightly meetings with employment advisors over a six-month period.

Councillor Samia Chaudhary, Cabinet Member for Education, Children, Skills and Employment at Hounslow Council, said:

“By addressing the employment and economic needs of our residents - particularly women – we’re empowering them with the skills and confidence to find good, well-paid jobs, training and volunteering opportunities. We can also match the limitless talent in our community with the opportunities in our economy, helping businesses grow while creating meaningful career pathways for our residents.”

Councillor Ajmer Grewal, Cabinet Member for Residents Support, Communities and Equalities, said:

“In Cranford, some 6,200 residents are often ‘just getting by', where transport and healthcare barriers are high, along with high unemployment and economic hardship.   

“Back in 2023 we launched our ‘Fairer, More Equal Hounslow' strategy, co-designed through extensive engagement with over 1,500 people. This new initiative is just one of the ways we are making Hounslow a fairer more equal place to live and work.”

The Council has identified North Hyde and North Cranford as two of its ‘Equality Opportunity Areas’ - communities recognised as needing additional support and services, including employment assistance. Council data shows that a high proportion of residents in these areas work in entry-level, low-paid jobs compared to the borough average.

Insights from the employment support programme will help the Council broaden its support to other groups and unemployed residents across the borough in the future.

To learn more about the ‘Supporting women into work’ programme and other career support available, visit www.workhounslow.co.uk, email work@hounslow.gov.uk or call 020 8583 6174.