Plans for multi-million-pound employment drive in Denbighshire
The county will be part of the first 'trailblazer' programme in Wales, along with Blaenau Gwent and Neath Port Talbot (the three counties will share the £10m between them), which will see targeted interventions tailored to residents' needs.
This will include help with CV writing and job searching, one-to-one mentoring, counselling services, wellbeing provision, and access to condition management services for those with health conditions.
'Trailblazer' areas have been selected to trial out new approaches to employment support in a bid to reduce unemployment, tackle inactivity and improve job opportunities.
The plans were unveiled by UK minister for employment, Alison McGovern; and Welsh Government minister, Jack Sargeant, at Rhyl Library yesterday (April 22).
While there, both ministers witnessed the support available via Working Denbighshire, including meeting 'work coaches' who offer expert, tailored assistance.
Wales is one of nine places receiving support through the UK Government's £125 million economic inactivity trailblazer programme.
Melanie Evans, principal strategic employment manager for Denbighshire County Council, says the aim with the additional funding is to assist 1,000 more people in the county within the next year.
She said: 'The trailblazer is going to 'turbo-boost' what we already do here, and will allow us to support more people who are furthest away from the labour market.
'With the extra funding, we're going to work much more closely with our health partners and our employers to provide training.
'We're also going to run a number of pilot events, and focus on whereabouts the needs are and work much harder in those areas.'
Among those to have been helped by Working Denbighshire is Justina Kosinskiene, 36, who is originally from Lithuania and moved to Rhyl in 2010.
Justina Kosinskiene (Image: Newsquest) She said Working Denbighshire helped her greatly with improving her CV, her interview skills and her confidence, and is now volunteering once a week at its Project Barod scheme.
This initiative supports Denbighshire residents aged 16 or older to overcome barriers like low motivation or wellbeing challenges and get back into work or training.
Justina is now hoping to secure a job at a care home, a position which she found out about through Working Denbighshire.
She said: 'Working Denbighshire helped me a lot, so now it's my turn to help them.
'They gave me a chance to volunteer and get me more out of my comfort zone and gain more confidence, and helped me a lot with my CV.
'It's all been very, very helpful and made me a lot more confident… even just with things like answering interview questions or completing job applications.'
Dan Jones, owner of the Tu Mundo cafes in Meliden, Rhyl and Prestatyn, has taken on individuals looking for work who have been referred to him via Working Denbighshire.
Luke Jones was one such person, who was offered a full-time job after a successful placement and is now shift supervisor at its Rhyl store.
Dan and Luke Jones (Image: Newsquest) 'It shows that, if we give the right support and opportunity to people, there is the potential of long-term employment at the end of it,' dan said.
'We don't take them on to replace a job; it's not a saving for the business. For us, there a lot of time and effort invested.
'Customers actively come in looking for Luke now, so it's a really rewarding process.'
Luke added: 'I'm a lot more confident now. I've got a partner, with a wedding down the line, and I'm looking to move out soon, so life is looking a lot better now.
'It's given me a lot more purpose. Working with Dan is fun, as well, because he matches my sense of humour.'
Mrs McGovern said Working Denbighshire has been a 'real inspiration' for the changes the government now wants to bring about, and called the county 'a perfect place to try a new approach'.
Alison McGovern and Jack Sargeant at Tuesday's launch (Image: Submitted) She said: 'One of the reasons Denbighshire is ideal as a trailblazer is because it's quite varied - we know that nationally, coastal economies have had quite a challenging time in the last few years.
'But Denbighshire is also a place with rural villages and industries, and we want to be able to understand what difference that sort of geography makes.'
Mr Sargeant added: 'We know there are a number of people who are inactive in the economy in Denbighshire, and we know the good work that Working Denbighshire has done in the past about getting people into work.
'Working Denbighshire has a proven track record of getting people back into the workplace and the job market; that was one of the reasons why we focused on it being a pilot programme in our trailblazer.'
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