Unemployed Mums in Birmingham are being invited to apply for a free 12-month programme to help them rebuild their careers and build a financially secure life for themselves and their families.
The programme is run by BMet College - a further education and training college - and the Women’s Work Lab, an award-winning social enterprise.
The Women’s Work Lab supports unemployed mums in receipt of state benefits back into work and is expanding into Birmingham. Since 2019 they have supported over 600 mums on their journeys back to work and on average, 70% will be in employment, formal training or work-related volunteering within nine months of completing the programme.
Birmingham faces some of the highest levels of economic inactivity and poverty in the country and there is a high level of need. The Women’s Work Lab is excited to help re-skill out-of-work mums and support them back into meaningful employment.
The expansion into Birmingham is a partnership between the Women’s Work Lab and BMet College, funded by the West Midlands Combined Authority. It will see pilot programmes launched in January and April 2026. The Women’s Work Lab is very grateful to the Rigby Foundation, which is funding set up and development costs.
Applications are now open for all mums who receive state-benefits, are aged 19+ (no upper age limit) and would like to find meaningful work. They can apply through the website here: https://www.womensworklab.co.uk/im-a-mum. The programme will run in a central location in Birmingham.
The Women’s Work Lab helps equip unemployed mums with confidence, key skills and valuable work experience that enables them to find secure, meaningful work. The programme is free, runs in school hours, and combines classroom-based training, a four-week work placement, and nine months of bespoke career support and mentoring.
The programme is vital: 88% of our mums on the programme have been out of work for more than six months, 57% are lone parents, 30% are survivors of domestic abuse, and one in five are aged over 50.
To date, the programme has supported over 600 mums with a 92% graduation rate and 68% of mums are now in employment, formal training or work-related volunteering. Mums frequently describe the programme as “life-changing”.
“WWL has completely changed everything about how we now live and how we think about our future. We have hope and we feel unstoppable about what might come next," said Sophia Mohammed, former participant and now Women’s Work Lab programme manager
Birmingham has some of the highest levels of child poverty in the UK and is among the most deprived local authorities in England:
The Women’s Work Lab has strong partnerships with businesses in the South West and will be establishing a regional advisory group for West Midlands employer partners, to ensure the skills needs of the region are met.
Rachel Mostyn, co-founder, said: “Having spent eight years developing, delivering and honing our HIVE programme in the South West, we are excited to be expanding into Birmingham.
"We know how needed our specialist support is and cannot wait to support more mums in recognising their potential, while introducing employers to so much new talent. The impact of our work goes well beyond just ‘getting a job’ - it’s transformative for the whole family and creates hope and aspiration for all."
Steve Rigby, of the Rigby Foundation, said: “Birmingham faces some of the highest levels of economic inactivity and poverty in the country. It has the highest claimant unemployment rate (14.3%) amongst the core cities and is well above the UK average (5.1%).
“We know from recent work we did with the Centre for Social Justice that young people with one or both parents unemployed and with a low household income are more likely to become NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) than others. Having parents who experienced unemployment increases the probability of being NEET by 17%. This partnership with The Women’s Work Lab hopes to change these outcomes."
Suzie Branch-Haddow, vice principal for external development at BMet, said: “The WMCA Growth Plan and Get Britain Working strategy both show that women and carers make up the largest group of people who are classified as economically inactive in our region and we are committed to helping change that, which is why developing a bespoke programme for mums across the region is such a priority for us and I am delighted that we are partnering with Women’s Work Lab on this tailored and bespoke programme for Birmingham.
“At BMet, we recognise the urgent need to support women into employment by removing any barriers from confidence to childcare to upskilling. This programme is a vital step towards helping mums return to work.”
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “Our region has some of the highest levels of economic inactivity and poverty in the UK but it doesn’t have to be that way.
"My Growth Plan sets out to tackle the lack of opportunity and support that has too often been the root cause of this inequality. The Women’s Work Lab offers mums an effective way to learn new skills and get into work, giving them the support they need to improve their quality of life, as well as strengthen their local communities and get our economy growing again. This is how we change thousands of lives for the better.”
