Oldham Partnership has been awarded £685,660 to increase employment in the Borough.
The Deprived Area Fund (DAF) money will be spent over the next two years on a project called ‘Get Oldham Back on Track’ (GOBOT). This project aims to get 500 residents in Oldham into employment by March 2009, and supports the outcomes in Oldham’s Local Area Agreement to improve employment opportunities for the Borough’s residents.
The main objective of GOBOT is to secure sustainable employment for unemployed Oldham residents. Twenty per cent of the funding will be spent on activities to complement and enhance the current, borough-wide Jobcentre Plus provision for Oldham residents. The remainder will be targeted at residents living in the Borough’s designated Greater Manchester City Strategy Wards, (The historic Alexandra, Coldhurst, St Mary’s, St Paul’s, Werneth, Hollinwood and Lees wards).
Cabinet member for Environment and Regeneration, Councillor David Hibbert said: “This funding is excellent news for the Borough. The Get Oldham Back on Track project will provide help and support residents in releasing their potential by breaking down barriers to work. The project will not only have an impact over the next two years but by creating sustainable job opportunities will benefit the Borough for years to come.”
DAF aims to support unemployed residents to access sustainable employment, particularly people claiming the Job Seekers Allowance, Incapacity Benefit or Lone Parent Income Support.
In addition, DAF is intended to be used for reducing barriers to employment encountered by black and minority ethnic groups, residents aged 50 and above, ex offenders and individuals with no qualifications.
The GOBOT project will engage with unemployed residents through outreach work, information, advice and guidance. Residents will be assessed and referred onto training programmes to provide them with new skills and qualifications.
The project will reduce the barriers to employment faced by residents through the provision of appropriate, coordinated training. This training will enhance those individuals’ employment prospects and will be job-specific where required.
The project also aims to secure sustainable job outcomes by working with employers to recruit unemployed Oldham residents. The GOBOT project will establish productive relationships with employers and provide practical assistance with general recruitment and workforce retention issues.
In addition to the GOBOT project there are a number of other initiatives taking place across the Borough to help people into employment. The Passport to Employment programme supported unemployed residents to access jobs with Tesco in Failsworth. This was a great success with 76 residents getting a job, many of which would have failed through the traditional application process. Similar schemes have been run at Asda in Shaw and talks are currently ongoing with Tesco on Huddersfield Road.
The Oldham Partnership recognises that unemployment is one of the major strategic challenges facing the Borough. By improving employment opportunities, it is widely recognised that there will be knock-on benefits for crime levels, health and well-being, and community cohesion. Through the Local Area Agreement, the Oldham Partnership hopes to tackle the range of issues which contribute towards an improved quality of life for the Borough’s residents.
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