Croydon's Economic Recovery Plan

More than 8,000 recession-hit employees are due to get extra help finding new jobs, thanks to a £4million funding boost, in a strategy which forms part of Croydon's Economic Recovery Plan.

South London Business and Croydon College have each secured more than £2million for a Response to Redundancy Programme to help employees across South London re-train for new job opportunities and to help advise businesses facing the prospect of laying off staff due to the recession.

The initiative is part of Croydon?s Economic Recovery Plan which aims to help local people and businesses survive the recession. The plan was drawn up earlier this year by Croydon Council and Croydon Business in partnership with a range of key agencies, including South London Business, Croydon College, JobCentre Plus, Croydon Enterprise, Envibe, Safer Croydon, Croydon  Business Venture, Business Link, and Croydon Voluntary Action.  The plan is currently being led by the new Croydon Economic Development Company.  Full details of the plan can be found at www.croydoncrunch.org

The Response to Redundancy programme, funded jointly by the Learning and Skills Council and European Social Fund, will run until December 2010 and is open to anyone made redundant within the past three months or who is currently under notice of redundancy in the boroughs of Richmond, Kingston, Merton, Sutton, Croydon, Bromley, Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham.

"This is entirely new money and is intended as a rapid safety net for those people who find themselves suddenly out of work and who need help getting another job as quickly as possible," said Peter Pledger, chief executive of South London Business.

"The recession means there are a lot of people who are facing redundancy for the first time. Many of them have worked for the same companies for a long time and are not used to job hunting. Therefore they need  extra help with skills training, cv  writing, etc."
He said the intention was use the money to create bespoke programmes which provide free support to more than 4,000 people. South London Business had also gone into partnership with a recruitment agency to help find solutions to getting people back into work quickly.

"It is not our intention to delay spending this money," he said. "The need is now."

Claire Parry, Managing Director of Croydon Skills and Enterprise College, said: "We are pleased to have won this bid which will enable us to build on the work we do currently with those looking to re-enter the job market. We can provide a wide range of support and training for those at risk of redundancy, newly redundant or those out of work for some time."

"Services include: Information, advice and guidance on improving your job prospects; a variety of both short and long training programmes to support and develop your skills; and support to find a job, preparing for a successful interview and on-going training once employed."

"Croydon Skills and Enterprise College has a great track record in work such as this and I'm confident that we will be able to support not only those affected in Croydon, but also across the rest of South London."

The initiative is part of Croydon's Economic Recovery Plan which aims to help local people and businesses survive the recession. The plan was drawn up earlier this year by Croydon Council and Croydon Business in partnership with a range of key agencies, including South London Business, Croydon College, JobCentre Plus, Croydon Enterprise, Envibe, Safer Croydon, Croydon  Business Venture, Business Link, and Croydon Voluntary Action.  The plan is currently being led by the new Croydon Economic Development Company.  Full details of the plan can be found at www.croydoncrunch.org.