Jobs strategy to aid regeneration of Heads of the Valleys PR527 Thousands of Heads of the Valleys people are to be offered new help to gain jobs, Welsh Assembly Government Deputy Minister for Regeneration Leighton Andrews recently announced.
The launch of JobMatch is part of an integrated approach to sustainable regeneration of the former coal and steel industry areas, and the message to unemployed people of working age is: “You’re better off in a job.”
By 2012, JobMatch aims to help 10,000 people in the Heads of the Valleys area into work. The initiative has already secured backing from numerous sources and anticipated further support from Europe will boost the total funding pot to £38 million.
The Welsh and UK governments are rolling out ‘JobMatch’ to remove barriers to employment for local people. Following a highly successful trial period in Blaenau Gwent, it is now being extended to cover large areas of Torfaen, Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf. Support provided by the partners in JobMatch can involve help with training and gaining new qualifications, linking people with suitable job opportunities, and encouraging self-employment. It can also provide advice on available financial support, care of dependants and transport issues.
Launched by the Department of Works and Pensions, City Strategy Pathfinders operate in 15 UK locations. In Wales, Pathfinders operate in the Heads of the Valleys and Rhyl. JobMatch is the Heads of the Valleys delivery arm for the pathfinder.
Increasing the number of working age people in employment is a key goal of the Heads of the Valleys initiative – a 15 year regeneration project, led by the Welsh Assembly Government, working to stimulate regeneration, economic growth, and environmental improvement. More than one in three people of working age living in the area are workless, compared to a quarter for Wales, and the local unemployment rate is three per cent higher than for Wales as a whole.
Speaking at the launch, in Llanhilleth Miners’ Institute, Leighton Andrews said, “Our vision for regeneration is quite clear. We want to ensure balanced communities in Wales where people want to live, to work, to play and to invest. Communities themselves must be at the heart of development plans. We know that it is not enough to invest in the place. Improving the physical environment is only part of the process of ensuring that regeneration benefits flow to local people themselves.
“JobMatch has an important part to play. After helping 1300 people back to work in Blaenau Gwent, the roll-out initiative has already helped a further 600 people back to work and will now assist many more people across the Heads of the Valleys area - some of whom may have given up hope of ever working again. JobMatch has proven its effectiveness, helping people to be more fulfilled and financially better off, with obvious benefits to the local economy.
“The £140 million investment by the Heads of the Valleys initiative, as part of the Welsh Assembly Government’s ‘Turning Heads’ strategy, is beginning to bring practical benefits to communities. The ongoing regeneration of former industrial areas and the challenge of refurbishing thousands of homes to meet Welsh Housing Quality Standards are creating many new job opportunities, and it is vital that we have the trained people who are willing and able to fill those jobs.”
Rachel Moxey, strategic employment manager with the Heads of the Valleys initiative, added, “JobMatch provides support tailored to individual needs. And it doesn’t stop when a person gets a job. We provide ongoing support and training to help people further their careers. Our research highlights that 71 per cent of people that were helped into work through the JobMatch pilot were still in work 12 months on and we believe this figure will increase.
“People are being encouraged to contact JobMatch via a local publicity campaign highlighting case studies of people who haven’t looked back since being helped back into work. Our message is that for a variety of reasons people are better off in a job. The first step is to pick up the ‘phone and call JobMatch on 0800 066 5452 – and we’ll find the job that’s right for you.”
|