The Coalfields Regeneration Trust has donated more than £70,000 to an East Midlands redevelopment scheme to help keep jobs on the project for local people.
Unemployed people living in Staveley will be given extra help, including training and support packages, to re-enter the labour market and take advantage of thousands of job opportunities created by a new business and industrial park just off the M1 junction 29A.
Community activists are worried that unless local people are given more help to find work, they may miss out on jobs to commuters.
Margaret Keen, of Staveley Neighbourhood Management said: “We were concerned that unless we could get more help, Staveley people would be left behind in the rush for the new jobs.”
The group brought together key organisations in the area, including the Coalfields Regeneration Trust – a charity dedicated to improving the quality of life for people in coalfield communities.
Jobcentre Plus has also contributed funding to appoint a new adviser, Kate Kitchler, for the project, Moving Forward. Kitchler will encourage both established and new employers to recruit local people.
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Derbyshire Unemployed Workers’ Centres co-ordinator Colin Hampton runs the project.
He said: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Staveley. People in Staveley who have health-limiting conditions have found it hard to get back to work and have told us what they want. Employers need to tap into their potential and not ignore the pool of local talent.”
