Conservative Controlled Council Scheme Helping to Open Doors to the Jobs Market

An innovative scheme delivered by Conservative controlled Staffordshire County Council is continuing to help hundreds of people get a foot on the career ladder.

The Open Door programme, which was introduced in 2009, helps prepare people for the world of work by offering them a twelve-week work experience placement.  Over 350 people from across the county have already benefited from the programme so far.

The scheme focuses on helping people who face difficulties and barriers in finding work, and includes people with disabilities, mental health issues, ex offenders, Children leaving care, school leavers, and graduates.

The scheme provides work placements within Council departments and also with external organisations depending on the candidates preferred area of work.  During the placement, people get valuable work experience, which they can put on their CV, a reference from their manager, as well as access to certain training courses.  People also get the opportunity to apply for any internally advertised jobs with the Council.

Staffordshire County Councillor, Ben Adams, Cabinet Member for Learning and Skills said, “A key priority for us as a Council is to ensure that people get the opportunity to access good quality jobs and that we have a skilled workforce to grow our economy.  This is a vital part of our strategy to bring growth and prosperity to Staffordshire.

“Our Open Door project is a great scheme that offers people a twelve week voluntary work experience placement within a wide variety of job roles.  The scheme, which was launched in 2009, has already helped over 350 people, with some securing full time employment.

“We are making sure that people who need that extra bit of support to get into their chosen careers get the help they need.  Open Door, along with other initiatives including our highly successful apprenticeship programme is helping people get into work.”

For further information on the Open Door Staffordshire scheme please contact Vicky Perry on 01785 854486 or email Vicky.Perry@staffordshire.gov.uk.