Recently, This is Haslemere attended several sessions of the newly launched CAP (Christians Against Poverty) Haslemere Job Club. The course was run by Lee Lees and Ben Davies, both of Three Counties Church. Whilst the course is run by Christian charities, services are completely free and open to everyone, regardless of faith, age, or background.

The first Haslemere Job Club ‘Steps to Employment’ course ran from April 2026 until the middle of June 2026. Fourteen candidates signed up to join the Club and it was interesting meeting such a diverse group of individuals. Attending the course was a first jobber, a graduate, trades people, a City worker, an artisan, a career changer and business owners. You’d think that managing expectations with such diverse skills would be a real challenge but, in fact, it worked very well having that variety of experience in the room. The course filled its places in a single day and, based on the response from this first Haslemere Job Club, Lee and Ben will certainly be running more courses in the future.

On arrival at 10am for each weekly session, the candidates were treated to tea/coffee and delicious goodies mostly baked by Bridie. Everyone mingled just as you would in a networking situation. Perhaps people didn’t realise they were networking though as there was no pressure and no-one selling you anything - just a community offering help and support.

Candidates followed an eight-week course where they were given all the tools needed to find work. This involved appraising their skills, writing a compelling CV and cover letter, and brushing up on important interview skills.

The course was underpinned by kindness, encouragement and collaboration. There were individual tasks and group exercises using a very structured approach with fellow job seekers helping each other to complete different modules of a superb step-based workbook which was broken down into weekly sessions.

Lee Lees shared with us, "Our first Haslemere Job Club has exceeded our expectations. In this practical course, we got to meet candidates and saw them grow in confidence. We watched how their job search journey grows with each session building on the previous week’s knowledge. I love how personal it is where we grow skills and friendships. It would not have been possible without the help of our coaches, volunteers and helpers."

Everyone in the room had a single goal of finding a new job and they were guided by videos, supported by the trained coaches, advised by specialist volunteers with extensive HR, recruitment, consulting backgrounds and they were all learning from each other. Each participant also had a designated job coach offering one-to-one support throughout the course.

At one session, very cleverly, the job club coaches turned the tables on the candidates. This was the session about how to prepare for and handle an interview:  the job seekers became the job interviewers and the job coaches became the job seekers, having to face a series of interview questions! Working in pairs they got to prepare the questions that they themselves might end up being asked in real life at an interview and they got to see how different job seekers might come across when answering. They were noticing body language, eye contact, enthusiasm or a distinct lack of it, time wasters and keen applicants. Why clever? Because in an open forum when you are doing role plays, it might feel very intimidating but the coaches managed to get the key points across whilst making the session fun.

One thing we loved about this course was the MAD goals that were set at the end of each module. MAD allows you to check whether your goals are Motivating, Achievable and what your Deadline might be to achieve them. This was a great way for the attendees to keep their job search planning on track and realistic.

CAP have more than 120 job clubs in the country and we heard that they have had good outcomes supporting people in their job search. It’s a very human approach rather than an impersonal box ticking exercise.

Ben Davies told This is Haslemere, “We are delighted to celebrate the completion of the first CAP Job Club in Haslemere. It was wonderful to see so many local people enrol on the eight-week course.

Throughout the programme, members explored ways to overcome barriers to employment, improve their CVs, and develop their interview skills and confidence. We were especially pleased to celebrate the success of several members who secured employment or progressed into further education during the course.

We are already looking forward to running our next course, which will begin in September 2026.

From the initial planning stages through to the launch of the course, I have been continually impressed by the selfless generosity, commitment, and enthusiasm of all the volunteers who made it possible. A huge thank you goes to every one of them for their invaluable support and dedication.”

If you are interested in taking part in the next Haslemere Job Club, you are welcome to register your interest here.