200 jobs for South Yorkshire's coalfield communities » Communities » 24dash.com

A new scheme, which will create 200 jobs for people from South Yorkshire's coalfield areas, has been launched thanks to a £1.1 million grant.

The Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT) has awarded the grant to Barnsley Community Build (BCB) to develop a training and employment service.

The service aims to open up construction industry opportunities for people classed as not in employment, education or training (NEET) from deprived areas in Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham.

Barnsley MPs Jeff Ennis, Eric Illsley and Mick Clapham visited Barnsley Community Build on Friday to mark the official launch of the service.

The service, which will run to March 2011, will provide a brokerage between trainees and employers, reducing the need to import skilled labour from outside the area and helping to keep wealth within local communities.

All trainees will be placed with an employer from day one and will be paid employees. The employer will receive a subsidy from CRT towards the employee's wage.

Training will be provided at a variety of venues, including BCB's base on Sheffield Road in Barnsley.

CRT chair Peter McNestry said: "Residents of coalfield communities should not be excluded from the opportunities which exist in the region's future construction industry.

"Many of the major developments may have slowed down, but if we ignore skills development now, we won't be prepared for the next boom.

"It is important that we remain committed to helping local firms to enter the supply chain for the many regeneration projects that are planned.

"We welcome these proposals to help individuals and companies located in deprived areas and believe this scheme will make a significant long term contribution to the quantity and quality of skilled construction workers in the local economy."

CRT is a charity dedicated to social and economic regeneration of coalfield communities throughout the UK.

BCB is a not-for-profit social enterprise which undertakes construction projects which enable local people to take part in training, attain qualifications and jobs in the industry. For more information visit www.barnsleycommunitybuild.com.
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