Last updated at 15:09, Wednesday, 30 January 2013

A SOUTH Cumbria college is offering a free employment support scheme.

SUPPORT JobWorks coordinator Mark Wadsworth

JobWorks, the employability arm of Kendal College, has launched a new package of free support to help firms retrain employees for new roles and provide employability skills for staff who need it the most.

The scheme helps with a range of expert advice and training for employees who are either at risk of redundancy, or who require training for new roles and responsibilities within a company.

JobWorks also helps firms that recruit someone who has been unemployed for less than six months by providing them with free training for qualifications such as first aid, food hygiene or health and safety.

The support packages include industry-led qualifications, employability courses to ensure that CVs are current, tailored to the job that employees are looking for and fit in with current recruitment practice.

Help is available with interview skills, English and maths, including English for speakers of other languages, and IT courses to improve computer skills.

Courses are delivered over a few short weeks or days and are designed to provide a short, sharp boost to employability skills.

JobWorks coordinator Mark Wadsworth said: “We recognise that businesses are having to restructure, reorganise and, in some cases, downsize to remain competitive, which is where we come in. Our support packages are designed to equip employees with skills to adopt new roles and ensure that others have the best possible chance of securing their next job.

“In the few short weeks that we have been running the scheme, we have put over 20 people through the programme, providing skills training to people from all walks of life, including a skilled engineer, competent and experienced business individuals and workers from the service and retail industries, and we’re confident that we are able to improve their employability skills right across the board and help them get their next job.”

JobWorks is based at the Lodge, in front of Kendal Museum, JobWorks, it provides a broad range of services for job seekers and those at risk of redundancy. More information is available at www.kendal.ac.uk/jobworks.

First published at 16:36, Tuesday, 29 January 2013
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk