23 September 2014
Following last year’s success, JobsFest – Back to Work’s eight-week initiative for locally-qualified jobseekers – is to return.
JobsFest will run from Monday 6 October to Sunday 30 November and will again include an employer incentive and a series of events designed to help people prepare for the workplace.
JobsFest Employer Incentive
Under the JobsFest Employer Incentive, the wages and Social Security contributions, worth up to almost £2,000 are paid during JobsFest to businesses hiring eligible jobseekers. It enables anyone who has been registered as actively seeking work since January 2014 to be hired for those eight weeks at no financial cost to the business.
Last year 109 new jobs were filled using the JobsFest Employer Incentive, and 67 of those were kept on by their employer after the incentive ended.
Social Security Minister Senator Francis Le Gresley said “Last year’s success indicates that offering employers a short-term wage incentive gives them the confidence to hire someone that they might not otherwise have considered. I hope that we have similar success this year and that employers take advantage of it because they will then be able to use the eight weeks of JobsFest to train and test that person at no financial cost.
“Last year, even those people who were not kept on after JobsFest benefited from the initiative. The eight weeks of work gave them new skills and experience to add to their CV, which stood them in good stead for future roles.”
JobsFest events
All registered jobseekers – including those who have not be out of work long enough to be eligible for the employer incentive – will receive a diary of JobsFest events. Activities, which are all designed to help registered jobseekers gain new skills and fresh inspiration, include meeting employers; workshops in CV writing and interview skills; and confidence-building sessions.
At least one event will be held every day throughout JobsFest. Last year’s free events were so popular that additional events were added, and more than 1,400 places were booked on 98 events during JobsFest.
Senator Le Gresley said “There is often a lull in employment between the end of the tourism season and the start of the Christmas period. Last year JobsFest helped bridge that gap with tremendous success, and I hope that it will again provide an excellent platform to inspire both jobseekers and employers.”
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