Immediate and diary: 20 June, 2005
Get on Board!
A specially-converted double-decker bus will hit the streets of Fitton Hill and Hathershaw next week, bringing help and advice on getting into the job market.
The Bus Stop Shop will be run by Highway to Opportunities (H2O) and funded by Hathershaw & Fitton Hill New Deal for Communities.
H2O is the newly-created service offering advice, training and job search support to all adults in Oldham aiming to get into the job market or develop their career opportunities.
The Bus Stop Shop will operate five days a week, spending one month at a time in four areas across Fitton Hill and Hathershaw. Local people will be able to access a comprehensive range of services which will be tailored to their specific needs. T
hese will include :
- Access to job vacancies
- Help with CVs and application forms Job search help
- Coaching for interviews
- Taster sessions in using IT
- Assessment and support in basic life skills
Local residents will be able to talk to qualified careers advisers and also get benefit and debt advice.
H2O Operations Manager Les Crabb said: “This bus will make a real difference to people on Fitton Hill and Hathershaw. Through the Bus Stop Shop they will have access to the support and advice they need to either move into the job market or broaden their opportunities by doing appropriate training.
“The bus will enable us to do research into what people in the area want from services related to employment, education and training. This research will help to shape future services. Local people will also be able to access other community projects through the bus.”
Gordon Roscoe, Chief Executive for Hathershaw & Fitton Hill New Deal for Communities, said :-
“This project is a major building block in our strategy of getting local people into employment by helping to make them job ready and directing them towards job opportunities. What we learn from this project will influence the sort of services we will offer when we open our One Stop Shop on Ashton Road, which we hope will be ready in early 2006. This is a facility that the residents of Hathershaw & Fitton Hill have been pressing for since the early days of the NDC programme”
During the first month of operation, the bus will be operating on Fitton Hill, based around Fir Tree Avenue, The Green, Keswick Avenue and Southcroft.
Ends
For further information, contact Andy Swain, Marketing Manager, Positive Steps Oldham on 0161 621 9321, or Helen Kemp, Training Manager, H2O, on 0161 628 9294.
