Birmingham jobseekers get ticket to employment
An award-winning travel scheme which has already helped thousands of West Midland jobseekers in their search for work is to re-launch in Birmingham thanks to a successful bid for more than £800,000 of funding.
Transport authority Centro has joined forces with Birmingham City Council’s Regeneration Services (Employment Development Team) to renew the region’s celebrated WorkWise initiative and make it more widely available in the city after being awarded money from Be Birmingham’s Working Neighbourhoods Fund.
The innovative scheme helps jobseekers by providing transport advice, journey plans and free travel passes for interviews and during the first three months of a new job.
WorkWise has already proved very successful across the region, with other schemes up and running in Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.
Since the initiative started, more than 6,300 passes have been provided for interviews and more than 5,200 people have been given help with travel costs for their new job.
The scheme has won national awards for the role it has played in getting people back in to work and encouraging green, congestion busting travel with 88 per cent of people continuing to use public transport after six months in the job.
Thanks to the successful funding bid, WorkWise will now be available from Jobcentre Plus offices and other employment and training providers for people living in even more areas of the city.
These include qualifying postcodes in Birmingham city centre, Edgbaston, Erdington, Hall Green, Handsworth, Hodge Hill, Kings Heath, Ladywood, Northfield, Perry Barr, Selly Oak, Sparkhill, Sutton Coldfield, Washwood Heath and Yardley
Cllr Tim Huxtable, lead member for Birmingham at Centro, said: “WorkWise has proved to be a huge success since it first started in the region seven years ago.
“Not only does it offer much needed help to jobseekers by removing one of the main difficulties they face in their bid to get back to work, but it also provides a major boost to the local community and employers by improving access to jobs and workers.
Councillor Neville Summerfield, Cabinet Member for Regeneration at Birmingham City Council said: “Removing barriers to employment is a priority for Birmingham City Council, particularly in the current economic climate. I am pleased that we are able to work with partners to bring forward innovative proposals to use the Working Neighbourhoods Fund to help local people to get jobs.
