Coventry Council approve £4.6m ‘Jobs Strategy’

Plans to try to get 8000 people into work in Coventry have been given the go-ahead.



The council wants to spend £4.6 million pounds next year, and many more millions up until 2014 trying to reduce the amount of people on the dole in the city.

Last week we heard the West Midlands now has the second highest rate of unemployment of anywhere in the country, with 19,777 claiming Jobseekers allowance in Coventry and Warwickshire in February – the third increase in as many months.

Officials want to work with local businesses, Coventry and Warwick Universities and unemployed people themselves to try to work out which way the city’s economy is heading and what skills people will need to find work.

Cabinet Member for City Development, Linda Bigham said: “There will be a decrease in the number of jobs available because of the economic climate.

“We’ve got to make sure we have the skills to make the most use of what we’ve got, but also to encourage other people to come here.

“Where cranes have stopped in other places in the country, developers do want to come here, industry does want to come here and what we’ve got to make sure is people have the skills those people need.”