PLANS for a new job club have been given a grant of Ј2,000 from the Westbury Area Board.
The weekly job club will be based in Crosspoint’s Welcome Centre in the Market Place. The club will offer advice on writing or updating CVs, help with looking for jobs, use of a computer and free stationery and stamps.
In addition, the club promises to offer a friendly environment where job seekers can come to improve their job search skills and share experiences with other job seekers. It will also offer guidance for job seekers about other agencies and organisations who might be able to assist them with their job search.
Local employers will be encouraged to use the club to source new employees, while it also hopes to provide occasional specialists to offer advice on subjects such as self-employment.
As reported in the 2011 Joint Strategic Assessment for the Westbury Community Area, the March 2011 claimant count figures show that the percentage of the working age population who were claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance in the Westbury Community Area was 2.6%, the fourth highest in the county. This compares to 2.1% across the whole of the county.
The move to start up and fund a job club was triggered by the issues raised by local people at the ‘Westbury Forward’ community planning event held earlier this year. The event, which was jointly hosted by the area board and the BA13 community area partnership, looked at up-to-date statistics on a range of health and social issues in the community, ranging from employment and educational achievements through to subjects such as smoking, anti-social behaviour and heart disease.
Priorities raised by local people form part of the community plan currently being drafted by the partnership.
