A MUCH-NEEDED scheme in Furness has helped more than 30 people onto the path to employment.

The Right2Work work and learn team in the area ran the year-long project supported by funding from the Sir John Fisher Foundation.

The funding was used to pay for a job coach to work with the participants who may have a particular learning condition or just be looking for their first job.

Grant Huck, from Ulverston, who led the initiative, said: “We worked with all learners to provide a good quality CV and the ability to seek out and find employment.

“We also mentored individuals in how to prepare and succeed at interview and how then to conduct themselves at work to develop long term job security.

“We have also given them new innovative ideas as to how they can put themselves ahead of their competition by offering to work for free as an Intern or through a work-based capability assessment or work trial.”

By the end of the programme in March, 33 people aged 16 to 55 had been either been signed up to join the further Journey 2 Work scheme, been helped into education or training, secured paid work or undertaken voluntary work or work experience.

It is hoped the course will be able to run again, although this is dependent on future developments around coronavirus.

Grant said: “We are being referred individuals due to the lack of support provision and that has to be the catalyst for making sure that this scheme continues to grow and flourish. Gaining learners and securing referrals was by far the easiest part of the whole process because the area clearly has an abundance of young adults that require support and guidance. On occasions we had to turn learners away as the influx was unmanageable.”