Hartlepool sets sights on new jobs

Unemployed people in Hartlepool and would-be employers are being urged to tap into a major new project which aims to create over 720 new jobs in the town.

Over the next 18 months the Government’s Future Jobs Fund will be used to help create the jobs through a partnership of public and private sector employers led by Hartlepool Council.

The vacancies are open to Hartlepool residents who are:

  • aged 18-24 and have been claiming Job Seekers Allowance for between 39 and 50 weeks OR
  • are aged 25 and upwards, live in one of the Government-designated unemployment ‘hotspots’ in the town and have either been claiming Job Seekers Allowance for between 39 and 50 weeks or
  • have been claiming Employment Support Allowance, Income Support or Incapacity Benefits for 39 weeks or more.

Over the coming months there will be a wide range of jobs on offer in administration, health and care, retailing and warehousing, construction, tourism and hospitality and community work. Among those currently available are administration, customer services, youth work, recycling, painting and decorating and security.

Employers from Hartlepool and elsewhere in the country are being urged to join the Future Jobs Fund programme and create jobs within their organisations. The initial start-up costs of the new jobs will be covered by the Future Jobs Fund and further support may also be available.

Councillor Pamela Hargreaves, Hartlepool Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development, said: "It’s vital for Hartlepool’s economic future that we do everything we can to help people onto the jobs ladder and to support firms which want to expand their workforce. Thanks to the Future Jobs Fund, we have a very important opportunity to make a real difference.

"We very much welcome interest from businesses and organisations which are not yet involved but would like to play their part in this major project for our town."

For more information about the Future Jobs fund – including details of the specific eligibility criteria for job applicants and employers – please contact Kim Williams at Hartlepool Council on 01429 284482.