A FORMER building site labourer has been taken off the dole and given a new start doing farm work in Wetley Rocks.
Aaron Hancock, 20, of Scholar Green, is one of two people placed at Farm2Grow, at Baileys Barn, through the Future Jobs Fund, which aims to put young people who have been unemployed for several months into work for at least six months.
Farm2Grow is a care farm which helps people develop a more positive mental approach through a variety of courses, as well as enabling them to be healthier physically through the outdoor work.
Mr Hancock was offered the post through the Job Centre while getting a diploma in joinery at Burslem College and is now working at Farm2Grow as a horticultural co-ordinator, responsible for planning a growing programme so the farm can sell organic produce, deciding which areas and what equipment will be used as well as doing practical work such as making raised beds.
During his six-month placement he will also be doing courses including An Introduction to Nature and the Environment, How to Grow, Health and Safety and First Aid.
Mr Hancock said: “This is a new start for me and is a great opportunity to be in an environment I really enjoy.
“It allows me to get relevant experience and training in an area I want to work in and am grasping this opportunity with both hands. I never want to be unemployed again but I want to have a job in something I enjoy and being at Baileys Barn is a great stepping stone towards that.’’
Helen Bailey, the centre’s founder, said: “This is not about us getting cheap labour, it is about us helping people to develop and get them closer back to full-time employment.’’
Jill Norman, chief officer of the Staffordshire Moorlands Community and Voluntary Services, which is co-ordinating a Future Jobs Fund project for the voluntary sector across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent on behalf of SCIO, the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent consortium of organisations, said there were still opportunities for voluntary groups to take on people.
She said: “I would like to hear from organisations which are keen to employ a young person and would like to get some funding to do so through the Future Jobs Fund.’’ If any voluntary organisation can offer a young person the chance to get off the dole and gain vital experience, they can call Ms Norman at SMCVS on 01538 381356.