Back in July 2009 the Borough Council and eVOLution (representing the 3rd and voluntary sectors) submitted a bid to secure funding from the Government’s Future Jobs Fund on behalf of 13 Darlington organisations. This initiative aimed to address the problem of high levels of unemployment by creating new jobs for 18-24 year olds and older people living in unemployment ‘hot spots’. The Fund sought to create 150,000 new jobs nationally, with a wage subsidy being offered to employers. The jobs themselves had to be a minimum of 6 months’ duration, for at least 25 hours a week, paid at least the National Minimum Wage. The first Darlington bid was successful and secured funding enabling 50 individuals the opportunity of new jobs, in a wide variety of organisations across the town.
Job starts for the first jobs funded through the scheme began in November on a phased basis through to April 2010. Accordingly, the last few people placed in employment under this scheme are now coming up towards their 6-month anniversaries (October) - some of whom will be seeking alternative employment, if their host employers have not been able to develop a business case or secure funding to retain them.
The scheme is running well and of the 14 leavers to date (their 6-month fixed term contracts having come to an end), 7 have secured further employment and 3 have moved back on to benefits. The remaining 4 are presently being tracked.
A second bid submitted to the Future Jobs Fund secured monies to create a further 46 jobs and to date 6 vacancies have been filled, with another 10 individuals receiving job offers, pending satisfactory CRB checks, prior to starting .
If you are a Darlington-based employer looking to recruit over the course of the next few months, we would strongly encourage you to consider interviewing someone who has previously been employed through the Future Jobs Fund.
Nik Grewer, Business Engagement Manager commented, “The feedback from the host employers has been tremendous, the calibre of individuals and the range of skills and experiences impressive. The scheme has enabled those supported to get some valid paid employment on their CVs and provided the opportunity for them to try out a range of roles – IT; admin; facilities management; receptionist duties to name just a few areas of work.
“As part of the scheme, funding was also made available to the employers to train those supported in areas relevant to their preferred job role. Consequently, many have participated in training in areas such as health & safety; first aid; IT and administration. Some of the people supported under the scheme had never had any paid employment previously; whilst others have been recent graduates coming out of university and struggling to secure employment with no relevant employment on their CVs.”
If you are considering recruiting soon and would like to learn more about any of the individuals that might be coming on to the job market, please contact Suzanne Clark, Business Engagement Officer on 01325 388 686 or email Suzanne.clark@darlington.gov.uk In certain circumstances there may be a limited amount of funding available to encourage employers to take on individuals previously employed through the Future Jobs Fund, who are at risk of unemployment.
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