Jobs Scheme is Success for College Leaver
A scheme to help young people find work has been a huge success for one job seeker, after it led to permanent employment.
Dave Barnett, aged 24, joined the Future Jobs Fund (FJF) scheme after being on job seekers allowance for nine months.
Despite applying for countless jobs Dave had been unsuccessful in his search for employment and decided to apply for an FJF placement with City of Wolverhampton College to give him much needed work experience.
After the six month placement was up Dave was delighted to be offered a full-time position within the department.
He said: “Before being referred to the Future Jobs Fund, I had been claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance and had been offered only a couple of interviews after applying for jobs constantly. My confidence was low and I felt that employers didn’t want to hire me as I didn’t have much experience, apart from two and a half years at Virgin Media in Birmingham and odd jobs I’d done after leaving college.
“In March 2010 my advisor at Jobcentre Plus told me about the Future Jobs Fund and after applying for a placement was offered a role in the college’s Employability Department to assist with a project called 6 Month Offer, which was a project aimed at people who had been claiming JSA for between 6 and 12 months. I was firstly responsible for filling in enrolment paperwork and liaising with Jobcentre Plus staff to refer clients onto 6 Month Offer training courses, but started to be given other responsibilities as time progressed. I also assisted other members of the department with recruitment events and jobs fairs. The job gave me more confidence in myself and my abilities as I was constantly being tested in new situations with clients and the variety involved with the role kept me on my toes.
“When my six month term was over I was delighted to secure a full time position within the department.”
The Future Jobs Fund was a government funded programme that aimed to create 150,000 jobs across the UK for young people who had been unemployed for over six months.
