Melin Homes invests in Torfaen's young people

PRESS RELEASE
19 January 2010

Seven young people from Torfaen, who have been out of work for more than nine months, have taken advantage of a Government initiative to tackle youth unemployment.

Melin Homes has recently been successful in a joint bid, led by Torfaen Council, to provide jobs for young people via the Department for Work and Pensions’ £1-billion Future Jobs Fund.

As a result employment will be provided for at least six months to 12 young people, aged between 18 and 24, who are finding it difficult to find work.
The individuals will be working in a range of Melin’s departments and, in addition to valuable work experience, they will receive training and development opportunities.

The first of our Future Job Fund Trainees, Chris Barker age 19, Vikki Bradshaw age 20 and Yasmin Hier age 20 all live in Torfaen and have been with us since September They talked about their time at Melin and what they hoped to gain from their placement.

Vikki said: "I am enjoying every minute here at Melin. Everyone I’ve met has been friendly, helpful and good fun. I enjoy coming to work and I hope to gain a qualification at the end of the scheme and eventually a job and I’d love to learn more about community development. I have never felt so welcome, Melin is very different to everywhere else I’ve worked."

Chris said: "Everybody has been so welcoming and friendly. I have been out and about to see what Melin do. It is my first real job and it has helped build my confidence and I’m sure that I will gain valuable work experience with Melin.

Yasmin is based in Finance. She added: "I was initially very nervous about starting my new job. However all those initial nerves disappeared. I soon realised how friendly and approachable everyone is. I have already spent time doing a variety of tasks in finance and spent time working on reception.

I am getting plenty of experience and learning valuable skills in various different departments at Melin Homes. This will ultimately aid me in getting a permanent job."

It is anticipated that around 600 new jobs in total will be created for young, unemployed people in Torfaen thanks to this government initiative. Already covered above

Kellie Beirne, Melin’s Director of Communities and Enterprise Team is delighted with the enthusiasm shown by our first placements. She said: "I think it reinforced to all of us precisely why we have committed to working with the Future Jobs Fund in such a positive and dedicated way".

Jim Knight, Minister of State for Employment & Welfare Reform, said:

"It's great to hear these young adults in Torfaen are now more positive about their future as a direct result of these jobs with Melin Homes. These jobs have been created as part of Backing Young Britain, our campaign to bring together employers across the country to give young people the guarantee of work or training if they are coming up to a year's unemployment."

Councillor Richard Clark, Torfaen’s executive member for regeneration, said:“I am delighted with the impact that the Future Jobs fund is making in Torfaen and the support we have had from partners such as Melin. We are seeing organisations across the borough providing life changing opportunities to young people, providing them with the skills and experience that will give them a brighter future and long may this continue.”


Photo caption:
Left to right: Vikki Bradshaw, Yasmine Hier, Kellie Beirne, Director of Communities and Enterprise and Chris Barker.

Notes

Melin Homes is a not for profit landlord providing quality homes and services across Blaenau Gwent, Monmouthshire, Newport, Powys and Torfaen. For further information please visit http://www.melinhomes.co.uk/


The Future Jobs Fund was announced in Budget 2009 and the money is to be spent between October 2009 and March 2011. The fund is run by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in partnership with the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) and with input from Jobcentre Plus Regional Government Offices in England and Devolved Administrations in Scotland and Wales.

The Fund aims to create 150,000 additional jobs, primarily aimed at 18-24 year olds who have been out of work for nearly a year to deliver real benefits to communities. The Future Jobs Fund is a part of the Young Person’s Guarantee.
From early 2010, everyone in between the ages of 18 and 24 who has been looking for work for a year will get an offer of a job, work experience, or training lasting at least 6 months. We are specifically targeting 50,000 jobs in unemployment hotspots and expect around 10,000 of the 150,000 jobs created to be green jobs.



Paula Skyrme
Communication Officer
Melin Homes
Tel: 01495 745907
email: paula.skyrme@melinhomes.co.uk
www.melinhomes.co.uk