Business Minister pays Christmas visit to Cyrenians Employment Support Agency
20/12/2011
Edwina Hart AM, Minister for Business Enterprise Technology and Skills, visited the Cyrenians Employment Support Agency in Mansel St., Swansea in the week before Christmas.
She chatted with staff and those who had recently been helped from homelessness and difficult circumstances back into permanent employment; one of whom, thanks to start-up help from the Cyrenians, is now running her own successful catering business in Swansea.
The agency is part of the Cyrenians Supported Employment and Training project, which is funded by the Welsh European Funding Office, and comprises a network of projects across Swansea helping homeless and disadvantaged people overcome barriers and get back into training and employment. To date it has assisted over 4,000 individuals and helped around 650 find work.
Conrad Watkins said – ''We were very pleased to show the Minister our project. West Wales and the Valleys receives structural funds from the EU because it is one of the poorest areas of Western Europe. Our project directly targets the very poorest and offers an integrated approach to tackling barriers, providing training and help into work, and crucially support to remain in work. People who were literally without a home in the not-too-distant past are now in work, and in some cases running their own business. Others are gaining skills and confidence through targeted support and training.''
Things are set to become more difficult in 2012, however, as the public sector cuts and the benefit changes start to intensify. Swansea is particularly vulnerable due to its reliance on public sector employment, and entrenched poverty is likely to become more prevalent. Workers at the project are in no doubt that demand for its services will steadily increase throughout next year.
Cyrenians Employment and Training is funded by the Welsh European Social Fund .
For more information please contact us on:
01792 467926
public.relations@cyrenians.co.uk
ENDS.
