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£1m help to find work
JOBSEEKERS are set to gain from a share of a £1m windfall to help to get them back into work.
People on the dole queue in Hartlepool and Billingham will get help in finding jobs and improving their skills after the cash was awarded to schemes across the Tees Valley.
The cash has been awarded to Working Links, an organisation set up to help disadvantaged communities and tackle social exclusion through employment.
It means increased services at the organisation's offices, including in Church Street, Hartlepool, and West Row, Stockton, to provide help and support through its outreach centres and work in the community.
The cash was allocated from the European Social Fund after Working Links helped more than 100,000 people into work nationally and 250 to get jobs in the Tees Valley.
Of the 250, around 80 are from the Hartlepool and Billingham areas and around 200 people from the two towns are enrolled with the organisation.
More than 800 people in the Tees Valley have also been helped to tackle their barriers to employment, such as a lack of skills and confidence.
There will be 2billion in European cash invested in England in jobs and skills up to 2013, with cash expected to be split equally between Hartlepool, Stockton and Darlington.
Kaye Lake, Working Links' performance manager, said: "This additional European funding means we can continue to make a real difference to the lives of people in the North Tees area.
"These are people who need this vital extra support to tackle a range of barriers that are preventing them from working."
Working Links' Tees North project started in June last year and covers Hartlepool, Billingham, Stockton, Thornaby and Darlington and aims to support disadvantaged and lone parents, people with health issues or disabilities, ethnic minorities, people over 50 and people with low or no qualifications into employment.
The programme helps disadvantaged people with support such as mentoring, training and job search activities, plus continued help for a further 26 weeks once they have found a job.
Alongside practical support with creating CVs, people are also helped with motivation and confidence building, presentation and assertiveness, and improving their jobsearch techniques.
Anyone interested in learning more about Working Links can call freephone (0800) 9179262.
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Weather for Hartlepool
Thursday 09 February 2012
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