MANPOWER AND JOBCENTRE
PLUS REWARD LOCAL JOBSEEKERS IN EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVE IN SOUTH WALES
Don Touhig MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Wales
presents awards in Bridgend & Rhondda Cynon Taff
Manpower, the UK’s leading recruitment and
workforce company, hosted the New Deal Awards 2004 ceremony this
month to celebrate and reward the outstanding achievements made
by local individuals in overcoming multiple barriers and getting
back into employment. The ceremony was held at The University of
Glamorgan to commemorate the successes of the New Deal programme
for the Bridgend & Rhondda Cynon Taff area.
The New Deal programme in South Wales is a Government initiative
run by private sector Manpower and public sector partner Jobcentre
Plus to address the needs of jobseekers and employers in an area
that has suffered from high structural unemployment for many years.
Since its launch in November 2002, the New Deal 18-24 programme
has helped over 1300 long term unemployed young people into sustainable
employment. The New Deal 25+ programme has coached, trained and
helped over 340 local people into work.
Don Touhig MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Wales,
who presented the awards for New Deal 25+ and 18-24 commented: “New
Deal is a keystone in Government policy and today’s awards
truly recognise all the hard work put in by jobseekers, training
providers, partners and employers to change and improve people’s
lives. New Deal is of course about getting people into work, but
it is also about helping employers to grow their businesses locally.”
The winner of the New Deal 18-24 programme was Craig Williams, a
20-year-old man whose confidence was extremely low. With the help
of New Deal advisors, he overcame his deep fear of job interviews
to work in the retail sector. In his spare time, Craig is a Petty
Officer at the local youth charity, the Rhondda Sea Cadets, where
he trains children in sailing and boating skills. He also holds
a Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award.
The winner of the New Deal 25+ programme was Sian Shortman, who
suffered from long-term depression and experienced some learning
difficulties. The New Deal advisors worked closely with Sian and
identified dyslexia and supported her in boosting and building her
confidence. Sian overcame her problems and is enjoying full time
employment within the catering trade in Bridgend.
Gill Owens, Manpower’s programme manager: “We are incredibly
proud of the successful programme we have delivered in South Wales
with our partners. Our partnership with Jobcentre Plus locally goes
back to 1998 when we started working on the welfare to work agenda.
Today’s awards reinforce the progress we have made in delivering
a successful programme and we look forward to helping even more
jobseekers and employers over the coming years.”
The Manpower programme is built around enhancing the employability
of the local community by giving them skills that meet the specific
needs of local businesses.
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Photos available
About the New Deal Awards
The winners received £100 vouchers of choice with a commemorative
plaque.
Other award categories included: New Deal for Disabled, New Deal
for Lone Parents and New Deal for 50+.
The Winner of the Employer Category was CWS Food store in Porth.
The store has been a supportive New Deal partner and is committed
to helping all types of unemployed people. All beneficiaries are
offered on the job training in warehousing, retail and delivery
disciplines. The company encourages participants to attend job search
sessions and allocates time within the working day to do this.
About Manpower
Manpower is the UK’s leading workforce management company,
specialising in permanent and temporary recruitment, HR services,
managed services, outsourcing and HR consultancy.
Manpower has been established in the UK since 1956 and today works
with organisations in both the public and private sector. Manpower’s
UK-wide network of 300 offices allows the company to meet the needs
of local and national customers. This includes numerous small and
medium sized enterprises, as well as larger organisations such as
BMW, BT, Heinz, Hertfordshire County Council, IBM, National Blood
Service, New Deal South Wales, Royal Mail and Xerox.
The focus of Manpower’s work is on raising productivity through
improved quality, efficiency and cost-reduction, enabling customers
to concentrate on their core business.
Manpower has a highly skilled workforce of 100,000 temporary employees
who stay loyal to the company (and its customers) thanks to best
in class employment benefits. These include a contract of employment
and free online training at all sites nationwide. Manpower also
works together with its staff to help bridge the gap to permanent
employment. Manpower’s e-learning tool offers staff over 1,000
courses in a diverse range of subjects, keeping Manpower’s
workforce up to date with today’s ever-changing working environment.
For further information, please contact the Manpower Press Office
on 020 8870 2214. Or you can e-mail us by selecting Press
Office from the Contact
Us page.
