Pictured above: Lord David Freud, Parliamentary Under
Secretary of State at the Department of Work and Pensions,
discusses employment issues with job seeker Mat Haynes at Pertemps
People Development Group's Advancement Centre in Cannock,
Staffordshire
Lord David Freud, the Government's chief adviser on welfare
reform, met local job seekers when he visited a West Midlands
town.
Following a presentation from senior managers of Pertemps People
Development Group, which delivers Flexible New Deal and Work
Focused Training initiatives across the county, Lord Freud took the
opportunity to talk to participants on the employment
programmes.
Unemployed for the past two years, 21-year-old Mat Haynes, from
Rugeley, told the Parliamentary Under Secretary how volunteering
for the British Heart Foundation had rebuilt his confidence and
given him aspirations to become a paramedic.
"Participating on Work Focused Training has not only improved my
employability skills but has made me realise just how much I enjoy
helping others," he said. "Most youngsters like me in Cannock need
help to find jobs and schemes like these are literally just the
job."
Lord Freud was accompanied on his visit to PPDG's Advancement
Centre in Mill Street, Cannock, Staffordshire, by representatives
from the Department for Work and Pensions and Cannock Chase MP
Aiden Burley.
In the past eight months, Pertemps People Development Group has
enabled 2,500 people to secure sustainable employment through
Flexible New Deal including 815 across Staffordshire, with 171 job
seekers now in work through the efforts of the Cannock Advancement
Centre.