Chamber's drive to get young unemployed ready for the workplace (From St Helens Star)

Chamber's drive to get young unemployed ready for the workplace

4:00pm Saturday 22nd September 2012 in News

ST HELENS Chamber is helping the young unemployed by making sure they are “work ready”.

It follows a research project to find out what employers look for when hiring young people.

The research, which surveyed 100 local employers, asked businesses about the skills and attributes that are most important to them when recruiting, as well as the barriers that may deter them.

Pauline Devine, director of employment services for the chamber, said: “The chamber is committed to making sure that every young person in St Helens is ready, willing and able to contribute to our economy and community.

“Businesses have been telling us for some time that there are a number of obstacles that may stop them from employing a young person, so conducting this research has allowed us to establish exactly what the issues are so we can ensure the young people we send exceed their expectations.

“Thanks to new funding from St Helens Council we are now able to provide extra support to young people before they are recruited into full-time apprenticeship positions with local businesses, to make sure they have the right skills and attitude employers need to make a valuable contribution to their business.

“It was also encouraging to learn that 64 per cent of those businesses surveyed are planning to recruit a young person in the next two years.”

For more information on recruiting a young person into your business, contact Debbie Hilton or Daniel Manchester on 01744 742000 or e-mail workforce@st helenschamber.com.