Nuneaton jobseekers will benefit from three-year employment support scheme

Long-term jobseekers and disadvantaged people in Nuneaton will be helped back into work by a groundbreaking Employment Support Pilot Scheme over the next three years.

A contract worth nearly £210,000 has been awarded to Coventry-based PET-Xi Training from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) via the Government’s Department for Work and Pensions to hold specific job advice sessions and provide specialist support in Camp Hill, Nuneaton.

The scheme will also help low-paid workers achieve the skills needed to gain more highly-qualified, better-paid jobs.

Eight PET-Xi Training staff will run the project at Warwickshire County Council's Camp Hill Education, Sports & Social (CHESS) Centre in Cedar Road, Nuneaton, while the scheme will also operate at a new facility in Abbey Street (due to open this summer) and from mobile engagement vans around the borough.

Camp Hill, one of nine areas in the area chosen for the scheme, already benefits from the Pet-Xi-delivered Positive Futures programme which is part-funded by the European Social Fund and Warwickshire County Council. Positive Futures support is specifically for young people so the additional offer means a much broader range of support will now be available for Camp Hill residents.

Fleur Sexton, managing director of PET-Xi Training, based in Westwood Business Park, Coventry, said this pilot programme would reduce barriers to employment for people of all backgrounds.

“We are proud to have been chosen as one of the training providers to run the Employment Support Pilot programme," she said. “We have vast experience in working with hard-to-reach communities and will be working with those aged between 16 plus in Nuneaton who want to re-train to apply for better-paid jobs and those who have not been employed for a long time.

“This scheme will provide specialist tailored advice to each individual and regular support sessions and we will encourage everyone who takes part to spread the word among their friends, neighbours and relatives about the advice available.

“We will also be making people aware of local job opportunities as well as the training and support available with completing job applications and giving advice on interviews.

“Most of our sessions will take place at the CHESS Centre to make it easier for people to attend, since that removes any barriers with travelling or childcare. But for those who wish to meet us away from their community, we are opening a new Skills centre in Abbey Street in Nuneaton town centre and we will also be driving our mobile vans around Nuneaton to community areas to promote the programme.”