Pictured above: Alex Loxley, from Aston, Birmingham, is enjoying being back in engineering at Presslite  Ltd with the support of Pertemps People Development Group and Aston Pride New Deal for Communities

A Birmingham grandfather who feared his working days were over is celebrating clinching a new job after writing to more than 50 companies in search of employment.

Alex Loxley, aged 61, from Aston, said he was "ready to surrender" as he struggled to get a job in engineering.

But things improved dramatically thanks to support from Pertemps People Development Group (PPDG) and Aston Pride New Deal for Communities, who have joined forces to give local people the best possible chance of finding a job despite the current tough economic climate.

Now he is "over the moon" after clinching a job repairing press tools at Presslite Ltd in Holborne Hill, Aston, just a short walk from his home.

Alex said: "In the past I had always got jobs by word of mouth so I hadn't got a CV and wasn't used to being in interview situations. You don't just walk into a job like you used to so it was really important that I had the support of my employment coach Bally Virdee.

"My age was against me and to be honest I was ready to surrender. Maybe I would have got some other sort of job, or maybe I would have given up, but I didn't think I would get back into engineering. Bally sent my CV to Pertemps Industrial and they sent it on to Presslite Ltd.

"Fortunately, my age wasn't a problem with them - they were interested in people with the right experience who could do the job. I'm so happy to be back at work, I'm over the moon. I can't express my thanks enough to Bally and her colleague Malcolm Edwards. They were always there looking for opportunities for me and offering their support. They were that helpful it was unbelievable."

Alex had been out of work for four months when he was referred to PPDG at the company's Newtown Advancement Centre in April.

Bally said: "Alex had been made redundant and came to us on the Employment Connections Project. He was transferred on to our Redundancy Plus Support Project and told us he wanted to secure work in an engineering and press tool maker environment.

"He was low in confidence as most of his life he had worked but, like many experienced people, had struggled during the recession to find a job which was making him feel demotivated. We updated his CV and conducted mock interviews, then sent out letters to engineering companies. I am so pleased that he was successful as he was very keen to get back into work. He has now got a great job and is delighted to be working in engineering once again."

PPDG's team of employment experts provide advice on benefits, confidence building, one-to-one support, CV and interview preparation, and finding the right job or training course. PPDG works in partnership with Jobcentre Plus and other organisations to deliver employment and training initiatives including Flexible New Deal, the Working Neighbourhoods Fund and Learndirect training programmes.

Aston Pride - a 10-year, £54 million regeneration initiative - aims to transform the economic culture of Aston by reducing unemployment and raising household incomes.  It encourages residents to aspire to achieve their fullest potential and collaborate in acquiring a sense of common purpose and community identity.  It is also providing intelligent support for training, learning, the social economy, and business investment and development.