New plan to help 400 Blackpool residents find work

A new back-to-work scheme in Blackpool will help more than 400 of the town's residents find employment.

The More Positive Together Programme aims to tackle and reduce worklessness by providing training and support to give people the skills necessary to secure employment.

As part of the scheme’s launch, Blackpool Coastal Housing held a recruitment open day to promote the new project, as well as advertise the first 13 jobs up for grabs within the project.

The Open Day, held at the iconic Blackpool Winter Gardens, saw more than 70 people attend where information was provided on the jobs available as part of the project as well as other current vacancies within BCH.

More Positive Together is a Lancashire-wide project which will help 2,250 residents of the county’s most deprived neighbourhoods to improve their skills and employment prospects. It is led by Lancashire Sport Partnership and supported by funding from the European Social Fund.

The programme will be available to residents of working age who are not currently in employment. Blackpool Coastal Housing will be the main provider of the programme and will work with residents, not only in social housing but those living in privately owned or rented accommodation.

Blackpool Coastal Housing has been shortlisted in 24Housing magazine’s ‘top 50 Social Housing Landlords’ campaign, placing joint 31st in the UK. The magazine's editor praised it for work in local regeneration schemes, as well as its customer service, low rents and community engagement.

Director of operations, Maggie Cornall, said; “We’re looking forward to working closely with residents to overcome the obstacles they face in achieving their aspirations by identifying and securing access to training, volunteering, and leisure and education services. Our ultimate aim is to work with residents to reduce the chaos in their lives so that they are able to move closer to the jobs market and ultimately gain employment." The programme will run for two years and it is expected that over 400 residents in Blackpool will be supported to gain employment during that time.