Thanks to Claire Howarth for getting in touch with news of this successful scheme. Ed
As a result of great team work between leading welfare to work charity Careers Development Group (CDG) and other local businesses, Newport Football Club has a set of newly decorated function rooms ready to welcome guests at the start of the new season.
Alison Baxter, manager of Newport Football Club, was searching for recruits to decorate the walls of two function rooms at the club, which is located at St George’s Park on the outskirts of Newport, when CDG was recommended to her by Steve Ray from Vectis Radio.
What’s the Careers Development Group?
CDG is a dynamic national charity which seeks to help individuals who have been out of work for a considerable time or who have issues or disabilities that make it difficult for them to find sustainable employment.
As well as providing a range of services to help customers back into work, they provide solutions for local employers looking to recruit the right people into the right jobs, at no cost.
CDG provided a spruce-up team
Seeing an opportunity to brighten up the club whilst offering valuable work experience to local unemployed people, Alison approached Claire Howarth and Richard Page from the employer engagement team at CDG with a proposal, and together they drew up a work schedule for a group of individuals on the CDG programme.
The ten people selected for the work placement have been working four days a week since the end of July and, under supervision, have been responsible for the redecoration of the two rooms from start to finish. Local companies Johnstone’s Decorating Centre and ITS Tools Ltd generously donated the team wallpaper steamers and decorating materials.
Great experience
Alison Baxter commented, “I hadn’t heard of CDG before, but once I had found out what they did I thought it was an excellent way to help the unemployed gain some experience and give them something to add to their CV. It’s been great to have a group eager to volunteer their services and show their worth. It is thanks to Johnstone’s, ITS and the help from CDG that we have been able to get a job that needed to be done quite quickly completed.”
Commenting on the initiative, Claire Howarth, employer engagement consultant for CDG said,
“Many people are quick to judge the unemployed and they are often misunderstood. Here we have a group of ten individuals who are willing to work and who want to work, and when they are given an opportunity like this one, they really do get stuck in. The group has done a superb job here, gained valuable work experience and rewarded themselves and the club.”
