Job scheme tackles local unemployment
South Lanarkshire Council has launched a new programme which will provide 80 new jobs and support businesses to employ local people.
The local authority’s South Lanarkshire Jobs Fund will support the jobs in a mixture of council positions with a community benefit (landscaping, street cleaning and catering vacancies) as well as providing a subsidy for small and medium sized businesses to take on unemployed local people.
An investment of £1.2m into the scheme will help those aged 18 to 24 without a job and those aged 25 or over who live in a household where more than one person is out of work.
Leader of South Lanarkshire Council, Councillor Eddie MacAvoy, said: “These tough economic times have hit young people particularly hard and we believe that our investment will go a long way to helping them and local businesses.
“We are determined to minimise the effects of the economic downturn on our young people so to help cushion the negative impact as far as possible we are the only local authority in the country that are offering this range of wage subsidy to private sector businesses.”
Anne Shiels, the council’s Routes to Inclusion Manager, said: “This new programme will bring our total investment in direct subsidies for businesses to recruit local people to £2m.
“Our programmes have so far resulted in 92% of new employees sustaining employment after the subsidy period ends.”
Loading ...