Fund helps more than 30 jobseekers find community work

Monday 27 January 2014

A family support coordinator, renovator, education assistant and children’s club leader are just some of the roles which have been created since the Back to Work Community Jobs Fund was set up to help Jersey’s young and long-term jobseekers.

The fund launched in September last year to help Jersey charities or organisations pay a jobseeker to do a role that benefits the community. It provides up to six months’ wages to people aged 16 to 24 who have been unemployed for six months or more, or jobseekers of any age that have been out of work for more than a year.

Social Security Minister Senator Francis Le Gresley said: “This initiative is making a real difference to our community by giving charities and organisations the chance to create new positions with an additional community benefit.

“Furthermore we are providing a route back to sustainable employment for our jobseekers by creating a platform on which they can gain work experience and develop their skills.

The Jersey Brain Tumour Charity applied for the fund and has since recruited Nadia Callec as its charity coordinator.

The charity’s chairman Sue May said: “The appointment of Nadia has given us the freedom to spend more time with the people that really need our support. Nadia is making significant process in her role since joining us and she continues to grow within our organisation. With her help we have begun to develop new ideas which we hope to implement in the near future.”

Organisations can still apply for the fund by giving details of the role they would like to create and how the community would benefit as a result.