Could your business benefit from £6,500 in funding support to employ an 18-24 year old?

Last year, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announced the creation of the Future Jobs Fund, a £1 billion programme aimed at providing support to create new jobs for long-term unemployed 18-24 year olds.  

Cumbria County Council has successfully received funding from DWP to help create 128 new jobs across the County by the end of May 2010 and would like to hear from employers who are interested in receiving funding support to create new jobs.

The main characteristics are as follows:

• Up to £6,500 per new job created can be made available to support the cost of employing a young person.
• Jobs created must be ‘new’ jobs – i.e wouldn’t exist without funding support.
• Jobs must last for a minimum of 6 months, be paid at least the minimum wage and cover at least 25 hours per week.
• All vacancies will be advertised through Jobcentre Plus.
• Jobs should demonstrate a benefit to local communities.  

All employers offering ‘new jobs’ through the Future Jobs Fund will advertise their positions through Jobcentre Plus who will then refer interested and suitable clients for interview with the employer.   Once a vacancy has been filled up to £6,500 can be made available to support the cost of employing the person and relevant work-related training can be sourced at no or limited cost from our network of local providers.

If you would like any further information on the Future Jobs Fund programme or if you are interested in exploring whether you would like to link new jobs to it, please contact:

Corinne Watson, 01228 221053 / 07970 729968, corinne.watson@cumbriacc.gov.uk or Caroline Powney, 01228 226753, caroline.powney@cumbriacc.gov.uk