MP Welcomes cash boost for
employment in Dunscroft

23 November 2009

Don Valley MP Caroline Flint joined local councillor Ken Knight
this week to celebrate a huge win for the Dunscroft and Hatfield area after the award of a £148,939 grant from the Coalfield Regeneration Trust.

The Don Valley MP Caroline Flint and CRT Trustee Vernon Jones MBE met Pat Knight, Chair of the East Doncaster Development Trust, to present the grant cheque for a new community-based employment advice service.

The new service, based at the new community resource centre in Dunscroft has received the cash boost from The Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT). The £151,344 grant means the East Doncaster Development Trust (EDDT) can step up a gear and provide more training and other opportunities to help residents
get ready and fit for work.

EDDT was established in 2000 and moved into the Dunscroft centre in September last year. It offers meeting room hire, a dedicated training room, in IT suite and a Job Desk, as well as courses, including Basic Skills, Personal Development, Avoiding Debt, and Health & Wellbeing.

Caroline Flint MP said: "During the recession, the Government and organisations like the Coalfield Regeneration Trust are doing their very best to sustain jobs and create new ones. But this grant helps those who may have been out of the labour market for a very long time to update their skills, and their confidence to seek work again."

The employment support service's activities will include one-to-one advice sessions, workshops and training courses and the opportunity to gain NVQ2 qualifications in IT, English, Maths, and Customer Care Administration, for example.

It will also develop links with local employers and provide a free specialist recruitment service, encouraging businesses to offer work tasters, discovery days and a back to work programme.

CRT Trustee Vernon Jones MBE said: "This project will resurrect and extend a much needed service, delivered in a community where the number of people on incapacity and unemployment benefits is higher than district, regional and national levels. We hope the funding helps to make a real difference to the level of support available to people in this coalfield area."

Bridging the Gap grants of up to £5,000 are available from the
CRT to cover the total costs of a project, or as a contribution to a larger scheme. Projects should address at least one of the following themes:

• Access to employment
• Education and skills
• Health and wellbeing
• Access to opportunities.
  

Most community and voluntary groups working to regenerate coalfield communities are eligible to apply for CRT funding.
To check if your group is eligible, and for more information, visit www.coalfields-regen.org.uk or contact Neil on 01709 765573.