Wigan job seekers given a boost in search for employment

Several firms across the borough are working closely with the Jobcentre Plus to help get more people back into work, amid continuing employment growth figures.

Bakkavor Foods (previously Hitchen Foods) is being supported by Wigan’s Jobcentre in King Street, who held a recruitment day to find food production operatives to work at their Ince factory.

The NHS also held a Public Sector Traineeship Programmed earlier this month, providing an opportunity for placements in the NHS and Wigan Council, primarily in the fields of business administration and health care.

Disability Confident - a JobCentre scheme designed to help employers recruit and retain people with disabilities and health conditions - saw two new local firms sign up, in Wigan Youth Zone and Forbes on the Lane.

The initiative works with Wigan Council and care providers on the Ethical Framework to provide pre-employment training for jobseekers wanting to work in home care across the borough.

Wigan Youth Zone will also start its “Get a Job” course from September 23.

Global firm Amazon will also be taking on new recruits at its Haydock facility.

The boost in employment opportunities for Wiganers coincides with new figures from the Department for Work and Pensions, which revealed that the number of people employed across the North West had risen by 18,000 since last year, and by 301,000 since 2010.

The unemployment level is at 156,000 – down 138,000 since 2010.

The number of people in workless households has fallen since April to June 2010 by 195,000.

Minister for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth, Jake Berry MP, said “The Government is supporting people across the Northern Powerhouse to make the most of the opportunities available when we leave the EU on October 31.

“Our £3.6 billion Towns Fund is backing 20 towns across the north-west to pioneer a new generation of multi-million pound town deals to create new jobs and boost prosperity as part of our commitment to level up every part of the UK. This builds on support including over £1.5 billion invested in the north-west from the Government’s Local Growth Fund since 2014.”

Latest figures on the number of workless households will be released in November.