Newly-recruited New Deal employees in London are leaving their jobs because it is uneconomical for them to commute.
Mel Ewell, managing director of aviation and transport company ADI, claimed people recruited from the New Deal scheme could not afford to travel from their homes in other parts of London to the Heathrow area, where his firm is based.
At the New Deal Best Deal conference organised by West London Tec, Ewell called for the Government to provide permanent support for its new recruits.
He said, “We support the New Deal, but for us it is not working as well as it could. We find that some of the recruits have left because it is uneconomic to commute to work.”
He added, “The scheme should be tailored to cover individuals’ transport and relocation costs.”
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Only 14 New Deal people have been attracted to the ADI group, which provides outsourced labour for the aviation companies operating around Heathrow airport.
The Government subsidises half of the travel costs for interviews and the first three months of the New Dealers’ jobs, then withdraws the support.