Pictured above: Sergeant Steve Beechey (centre, back) joins
Santa and his little helpers from Pertemps People Development Group
at the community Christmas party
A community went Christmas crackers when Birmingham residents
were invited to get into the festive spirit at an event funded by a
donation from West Midlands Police.
Employment experts Pertemps People Development Group (PPDG)
invited local people to a party at its Sparkhill offices, with
Santa handing out selection boxes to local children. The event was
made possible after PPDG applied to the Police Property Act Fund
for support.
The Police Property Act Fund is made up from funds that have
been raised through the sale of property that has been in police
possession for over 12 months, where the owner cannot be found.
Recipient organisations are usually local charities and community
groups. PPDG was granted £2,000 from the fund to stage five
community events across the region.
Georgina Murphy, PPDG Sparkhill site manager, said: "It was
wonderful to be able to treat local people to an early Christmas
party. It gave residents a chance to get into the festive spirit
and maybe meet new friends. It is vital that our team builds strong
links with the local community so that we can provide employment
support to everyone that needs it so events like this play an
important role. I would like to thank the West Midlands Police for
their generous support."
PPDG delivers the Government's Welfare to Work strategy across
the Midlands through Flexible New Deal, Work Focused Training and
other employment initiatives. PPDG is using its vast experience of
helping long-term unemployed people get back into work to help
local jobseekers secure employment opportunities.
PPDG's team of employment experts provide advice on benefits,
confidence building, one-to-one support, CV and interview
preparation as well as finding the right job or training course. In
partnership with DWP, the Ministry of Justice and Jobcentre Plus,
PPDG delivers a diverse range of employment and training
initiatives including Flexible New Deal, Working Neighbourhoods
Fund, Learndirect and many ESF funded programmes. More than 100,000
job seekers have been helped into sustained employment by the
company since the projects began. It has trained 130,000
people in vocational skills, and over 175,000 people have
benefitted from professional information, advice and guidance
services.