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Youngsters seize job opportunities
AN initiative to get jobless young people back to work in North East England has created more than 1,000 new employment opportunities in just four months.
Since being launched last October, the 22m Future Jobs Fund programme has seen 1,120 job vacancies being created across Tyne and Wear – including 82 in South Tyneside.
A roadshow was held at South Shields Town Hall earlier in the year giving young people aged between 18-24 the chance to see what jobs were on offer.
Richard Barber, South Tyneside Council's cultural development officer, said: "There were 14 jobs on offer on the day and we were delighted with the turnout."
The Future Jobs Fund programme, which achieved its aim of creating 1,600 temporary jobs by this month, and plans to have created 3,500 in total over the next 18 months, is run by the Tyne and Wear City Region Employment and Skills Partnership.
The programme targets young people, along with older people living in unemployment hotspots, who have been out of work for six month.
Five other roadshows were held across the region in January and February, which about 500 people attended in total with 710 job applications made on the day and many more being received afterwards.
Coun Iain Malcolm, leader of South Tyneside Council and chairman of the Tyne and Wear City Region Executive Board, said: "We are absolutely delighted that the City Region Future Jobs Fund has created over 1,000 employment opportunities in such a short space of time.
"The jobs fairs demonstrated that there is a real appetite among unemployed people to get back to work as quickly as possible and the quality of applicants has been very high.
"It is even more pleasing that the jobs on offer have been very varied, and with the economy showing signs of recovery, there is no reason why many of these temporary opportunities could not result in full-time employment for many of the young people who are on the Future Jobs Fund programme."
The Tyne and Wear City Region encompasses the seven local authority areas of South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, Northumberland and County Durham.
For more information, visit www.dwp.gov.uk/futurejobsfund
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Weather for South Shields
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -2 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Light rain
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