Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

A jobs fair is taking place in Llanelli town centre this week at the new Un Sir Gar/One Carmarthenshire hub. The jobs and training fair will be held at the Hub opening in the former Burtons store, next to Boots in Stepney Street. The event will take place from 10am to 2pm on Thursday, May 15, and the team from Un Sir Gar will be on hand to help and advise. A number of local employers will also be in attendance, and there will be jobs, training, apprenticeships and volunteering opportunities available. Budding entrepreneurs with business ideas will be welcomed, and advice and support will be offered. The jobs fair is taking place to launch the Un Sir Gar/One Carmarthenshire Hub which has been set up to help people get back into work, education and training. It is a one stop shop, aiming to make life easier for people seeking information, education, housing, and employment opportunities. Experienced advisers will aim to identify a personal path for each client according to their skills...

An Ammanford resident who won work training and advice in a One Carmarthenshire/Un Sir Gar competition has now found a new job in just seven weeks. Kim Maisey, from Ammanford, won a ‘Back to Work Bundle’ including job training in the Where’s 1 competition launched in early November. With the support of the team he had four job interviews and has started work with TSM Ltd on contract to Day’s Rentals at Gorseinon. The Where’s 1 team toured the county with a giant pink 1, with the aim of raising awareness of the services that the project offers, which include back to work support, training and apprenticeship signposting. Radio Carmarthenshire and Scarlet FM supported Un Sir Gar/One Carmarthenshire in organising the competition by providing clues and updating listeners on where ‘1’ was each day. Locations included Ammanford, Carmarthen, Llanelli, St Clears and Llandovery, where the team battled a mixture of wind, rain and frost. Participants were invited to discuss various ‘Back to Work...

Un Sir Gar has already helped a number of people get back into work or training since being launched last year. Since the service started, more than 9,000 people have visited the website and almost 500 have called. Many customers are now in employment, training, volunteering or have been signposted to other projects. Of all clients, 97 per cent said they were either very satisfied or satisfied with the service received, and the same number said they would use Un Sir Gar again. Analysis shows that 40 per cent of the clients who contacted Un Sir Gar were aged between 16 and 25, of these 54 per cent were female and 46 per cent male. Follow up calls are made to clients and out of 80 made, 54 per cent had been successful, they ranged between gaining jobs, commencing training or education, or signposting to other employment services such as Workways, to providing support for businesses and community engagement. Un Sir Gar (One Carmarthenshire) brings together all advice, information, educati...

The past few years has seen a major rise in young people aged 16 – 24 who are either unable, or are taking longer, to make the first move from education into work. The skills now required for first jobs have made it harder for many young people to get a foot in the jobs market and they need help to get connected to today’s world of work as they leave school. They need personalised guidance, introductions to business networks and training opportunities, as well as work experience which leads to paid employment. One Carmarthenshire/Un Sir Gar is a new and unique project, designed to bring together all advice, information, training, voluntary and employment opportunities in Carmarthenshire. It is a first stop shop, FREE phone number of 0800 9173 408, which aims to make life a lot easier for those young people who want to obtain work, education and training, or are unsure of the right path for them. Un Sir Gar advisers, who have knowledge of opportunities and services available, will iden...