Jobcentre van set to bring more employment opportunities to Highland communities
Inverness’ new mobile Jobcentre will be pulling up to community centres and residential areas in coming weeks to pilot the delivery of vital employment support directly to local communities.
The mobile Jobcentre will be staffed by experienced Work Coaches who offer expert support with job searching, training opportunities and can provide information to those with health conditions or disabilities and accessing childcare costs.
As well as existing customers, the service is open and accessible to all members of the public and forms part of the UK Government’s wider plans to tackle inactivity, support people into jobs and make everyone better off under its Plan for Change.
Minister for Employment, Alison McGovern, said: “For too long, people have been denied the opportunity of securing a good job and getting on in their career. Under our major employment reforms, we want to see everyone, in every corner of the country, become better off.
“This mobile Jobcentre is a perfect example of an inclusive and accessible DWP solution that ensures no one misses out on the job support they deserve. Getting more people back into work is a key part of our Plan for Change to deliver economic growth, create better opportunities and put more money into the pockets of working people”
Sarah Cumming, Work Coach at Inverness Jobcentre said: “I'm excited for EVan to take us to the remote areas and reach out to small communities who need our services to find out about employability queries including childcare costs and help with job searching or CV creation. I look forward to being there, to show we care.”
The UK Government is delivering on the biggest reforms to employment support in a generation as set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper. Key measures include overhauling Jobcentres, so they focus on skills and careers.
Charlene Bell, external relations lead from Inverness Jobcentre said: “Our message to employers is that we can help you fill your vacancies, and jobcentre work coaches are playing an increasingly important role in helping them hire the right people.
“With vacancies in every sector, including hospitality and health care, we’ve been working with Blackfriars, Zizis and Crossreach businesses. We held a successful jobs fair at the Eastgate Shopping Centre on Friday March 14, with 20 employers and five partners in attendance. We received excellent feedback from the employers with regards to the quality of applications made on the day from our customers.
For jobseekers our work coaches are geared up to provide the right support to get them job ready, including access to training and voluntary work experience, which can act as a springboard to a new career.”
