A free Herefordshire service is giving unemployed jobseekers a lifeline by helping them to find suitable, local work.

Work Routes, which is co-funded by Department for Work and Pensions and European Social Fund and delivered by Reed in Partnership, has so far helped more than 900 jobseekers from the region to start working again.

Work Routes Operations Manager, Darius Hermanski, is encouraging unemployed people who are struggling to find work to make use of the service:

“After the year we’ve had, where so many people have lost their jobs and multiple sectors shut down completely, our service is needed more than ever.

“Businesses are beginning to reopen which is welcome news, but what we’re seeing is an increase in people who lost their jobs and have no idea how to go about finding or applying for a new one.

“We’re working directly with employers from sectors like Retail and Hospitality, to place suitable Work Routes jobseekers into their roles as they prepare to reopen. Equally, we’re working with jobseekers who’d like to start afresh in a new sector that they feel has more security, and to do that, we’re helping them to identify their transferable skills, update their CVs, and apply for jobs we think they’d be great at.”

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The Work Routes service also works with people who are out of work for reasons other than the Covid-19 pandemic:

“Many jobseekers that we work with have been unemployed since before the pandemic”, said Darius, “so they’re dealing with long-term unemployment and are unsure about where to go from here.

“Others have more complex issues that they feel are stopping them from finding work, such as lone parenthood, caring responsibilities, previous convictions, skills gaps - but the beauty of Work Routes is that whatever your barrier to finding work, we can help you to overcome it.

“Every person who joins our free service benefits from one-to-one support. You’ll be listened to; we’ll find out what your goal is and then we’ll work together to achieve it. Some people just need a quick CV revamp, while others benefit from skills training, access to qualifications, interview practise, health & wellbeing support. Whatever you need, we can help you.”

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Exclusive access to local jobs

A key to the service’s success is its link with Herefordshire employers, who often approach Work Routes to support them with a recruitment drive – meaning that jobseekers using the service get first access to the jobs on offer.

Herefordshire-based food manufacturer, Avara Foods, has been working with Work Routes to fill their vacancies with jobseekers using the service.

Nicole Parkin, Resourcing Manager at Avara Foods, said: “Work Routes has worked closely with Avara Food’s recruitment team over the past few months, and has provided us with some great new employees, who are enow enjoying the start of a new career with us.

“Work Routes has taken the time to understand what we do as a business, and when they point people in our direction, they already have a good understanding of what it is we do, making the process a lot smoother for all involved.

“I have seen the benefits of working closely with the service and can only see this relationship getting stronger as time goes on.”

Don’t miss out – only six weeks left to join

The Work Routes service is accepting new participants until the end of June this year. Anyone who joins before then will be guaranteed up to 52 weeks of free, personalised support to help them to start working.

As the service receives ESF funding, there is never a charge to anybody who uses it. This includes employers who, even once they have hired a Work Routes candidate, never have to pay a penny in recruitment fees.

If you are unemployed and would like to increase your chances of finding a job that suits your skills and circumstances, why not give Work Routes a try? You can visit workroutes.co.uk/Herefordshire to find out more and sign up online or call us on 01423 537 502.

If you are a Herefordshire-based employer who would like our support to quickly fill your vacancies with local jobseekers at no cost to you then please contact us today on 01423 537 502.