Future Jobs: Minister Jonathan Shaw, MP and Celia Barlow, MP chat to some of Hove YMCA’s Future Jobs workers.Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions Minister for the South East, Jonathan Shaw MP, and local MP
Celia Barlow, made a special visit to Sussex Central YMCA to talk to the YMCA’s latest
recruits.
Sussex Central YMCA have recently employed 30 young people through the Future Jobs Fund – a government scheme to give paid work placements and training for 18 to 24 year olds. A further 72 jobs will be created over the next 14 months.
The Minister spent two hours chatting to the Future Jobs workers, and learnt about their new jobs in retail, electrical refurbishment, marketing, administration and sports work.
The Minister said, “I commend the excellent work being done by YMCA and the City Council in the economic downturn to give young people who are struggling the opportunity to get on the employment ladder.
“The enthusiasm and potential of young people will be vital as we start to move out of the recession so we need to give them the chance to flourish.
More about the Future Jobs Fund
One of the biggest problems in the city of Brighton and Hove is the high level of unemployment of people aged 18 to 24. Whilst this group will have varying levels of educational experience there remains a constant theme with all of them – they need a job to get a job. Working in partnership with Brighton and Hove City Council, Sussex Central YMCA will be directly creating 102 jobs, as it develops its social enterprise, its reuse green business and its general youth and sport work.
The jobs are for at least six months, with many being extended to 12 months and beyond. Jobs will cover a number of occupations including: sport workers; music youth workers; marketing; driver’s mates; retail; marketing; warehousing; and electrical testing and refurbishment. Once in post they will be given on-the-job-training, NVQ training and that all important first wage packet. At the end of the work placement the young person will be helped with writing a new CV, interview techniques and have that all important aspect – a recent work reference from a related job.
