Recruitment event sees over 200 St Helens jobseekers through the doors

Feb. 9, 2011 - PRLog -- OVER 200 local job seekers were at Grange Valley Youth Centre in Haydock this week to meet Starting Point’s Jobs Team.

The team of advisers were on hand to meet with job seekers with information on 30 vacancies currently being advertised by the specialist employment service, on behalf of local businesses.

They were also joined at the event by advisers from JobCentre Plus, Connexions and St Helens Chamber’s Business start up team were there to promote a range of additional employment opportunities.

Pauline Devine, Employment Services Manager at Starting Point, Commented: “This was the first of a new series of recruitment events we’ve planned for 2011. Because businesses don’t always have the time to attend this type of recruitment event so we wanted to take their vacancies and recruit on their behalf, whilst at the same time offering support to people looking for work.

“The event provided a great opportunity for us to meet with a large number of job seekers in just one afternoon and identify a number of suitable candidates who meet the needs of the local businesses we were representing.

“In the face of the public sector job losses that have been reported around the region recently, it is really encouraging to see that local businesses are still recruiting and expanding. Through our work as part of St Helens Chamber we hope to be able to support even more businesses to fill their recruitment needs and grow their businesses over the months to come.”

Starting Point has a specialist team of employment guidance advisers offering free and impartial help to the people of St Helens to find work. The project is supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the North West Coalfields Communities Regeneration Programme.

The Team offers a range of support to help people find work; from help with writing a C.V. to searching for jobs and interview techniques. The team are always out and about in the community, providing an easy way of accessing their services as well as offering a central office on Hardshaw Street in the town centre.

They also offer a range of free recruitment services to local businesses where they will advertise their vacancies for free and draw up a short list of suitable candidates for interview, saving the businesses a lot of time and money on recruitment.

For more information on the support available, contact Starting Point on 01744 698800 or visit http://www.thestartingpoint.org

Ends.

Notes to Editors:

Starting Point

Starting Point is operated and Managed by St Helens Chamber. It offers receive free information, advice and guidance on jobs, education and training in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

Starting Point is a member of St Helens Information Advice and Guidance Network and is Matrix accredited by the Guidance Accreditation Board.

St Helens Chamber

St Helens Chamber is one of the largest and most successful Chambers in the UK with the highest business involvement rate.  It represents all industry sectors, ranging from sole traders to large corporations and multi-nationals. Chamber Members employ over 60% of the local workforce.

This project is supported by the European Regional Development Fund and the North West Coalfields Communities Regeneration Programme.

European Regional Development Fund

The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is making a real difference to people and businesses in the Northwest. With €755 million to invest between 2007 and 2013, ERDF is enhancing the competitiveness of the region’s economy by supporting growth in enterprise and employment. Visit www.erdfnw.co.uk

North West Coalfield Communities Regeneration Programme

The Coalfields programme which is managed by Wigan Council’s Economic Regeneration Office on behalf of the NWDA, aims to regenerate former coalfield communities in eight local authority areas:

•   Allerdale Borough Council
•   Bolton Council
•   Copeland Borough Council
•   Knowsley Council
•   Salford City Council
•   St Helens Borough Council
•   Warrington Borough Council
•   Wigan Council

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