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Training Director calls for end to unemployment stigma

The director of Janard Training and Assessment Centre, Teesside’s premier provider of accredited and private training, has today called for an end to the stigma surrounding unemployed people. This comment comes following a report by the TUC in which it was found there are more than nine claimants for every vacancy in the North East, compared with around 4 in the South East and South West.

The Billingham based training provider, with a reputation for exceptional training across a number of disciplines including more than 15 years’ experience in health and social care, has recently appointed three new members of staff who had been forced to claim benefits due to unemployment. The appointments came as part of a recruitment drive in 2012, which has seen the North East training provider appoint a total of seven new employees.

Maria Gibson, owner and director of Janard, voiced her concern about the attitude some employers may have towards those who are unemployed and claiming benefits, saying the worry is that this attitude puts up yet another barrier to getting back into employment in our region.

Mrs Gibson said: “It is sad that in a time when so many of the UK’s skilled workforce is unemployed and forced to claim benefits, employers can have negative attitudes towards people who are trying to change their situation. Janard gives the same chance to those who are on benefits to those in a job and three of our recent appointments were unemployed when they came to us for interview.”

John Northam from Billingham was appointed as a Key Skills Tutor at Janard after being unemployed for four years. He was made redundant in 2008, bringing to an end his 30 year career in engineering.

Mr Northam said: “I was diagnosed with clinical depression during my unemployment as I found it hard to find any work and it was having a massive impact on my self-esteem. There were barriers put in front of me in regards to moving from engineering into teaching and when I didn’t get a reply from job applications I worried it was because of my long term unemployment.”

He added: “I started volunteering as a teaching assistant while I trained to be a teacher then I found out about the Janard job and here I am! I didn’t think I’d get a job in teaching and I am glad Janard took into account my skills and not my period of long term unemployment.”

Janard has now begun working with the unemployed to provide pre-employment training which helps equip people with the relevant skills to progress to a career. The first training courses to be run by the training provider will be a taxi driving starter course and an introduction to health and social care.

Mrs Gibson said: “I am delighted that Janard is in a position to offer funded training courses to unemployed people. We are working in partnership with a number of our employers to give those on the course the best chance at securing a job following training.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sophie Oldridge .