Weekly Column
On Friday, the Lynn Town Deal Board met at the College of West Anglia to talk to students about exciting plans for the town funded by the £25 million agreement with government. That includes regenerating St. George’s Guildhall and Creative Hub, a new library, adult learning, and community hub, regeneration of the riverfront and town centre, and active travel, better walking and cycling networks.
It was fitting to meet at CWA as it is home to the first successful project - the School of Nursing Studies – which offers opportunities for people to train locally in nursing in a state-of-the-art facility. CWA has recently unveiled exciting new plans to build on this with its Centre of Excellence for Health Apprenticeship.
Extending opportunities is key to the Town Deal and at the meeting we reviewed the success of the Boost project which was a trailblazer like the School of Nursing Studies. While unemployment locally is lower than the national average there is more to do to help young people and that’s what this scheme focused on.
Over the last two years, Boost has helped 400 people including 16-18 year olds at risk of not being in education, employment, or training; 18-24 year olds who are unemployed; and those 18-39 who are in low skilled roles. 300 have entered an activity, employability support, training, or started new jobs. This includes 131 unemployed individuals who have been supported so far, 40 have been assessed as job ready, with 35 now in employment, and others volunteering or completed work experience.
This success is down to the partnership between Norfolk County Council which leads on the project, CWA, the borough council, Town Board, Jobcentre Plus, schools, other groups, and of course employers.
By working with over 50 employers Boost is making a real difference to people’s lives. So it is great news it has been extended thanks to funding from the government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund the council has allocated to continue the programme.
When companies have vacancies and there are people looking for work then we need to improve those links further. I’ve previously hosted the Employment Minister in Lynn to meet businesses and the Jobcentre Plus (JCP) team to explain more about how they can help to fill jobs. JCP can help with recruitment advice, setting up work trials for potential recruits, advise on work experience and apprenticeships, and advertise jobs.
In recent weeks they have had job fairs for health and social care, next week there’s an apprenticeship event, and in March a careers event in Hunstanton. Companies including Palm Paper, Searles, Recipharm, Cooper Roller Bearings, Home Instead as well as QEH and others are taking part. But these events only work if employers are engaged and taking part so if your firm is interested then drop me a line and I will link you up.
I’m looking forward to doing some work shadowing soon at the JCP to see those teams and the other support they offer to people in action.
First published in Lynn News, 1 February 2024
