Jobs and training hub to continue for another year

Hundreds of young people in Blackpool have successfully found jobs and training thanks to support from a skills advice service which is now being extended for another year.

The Platform, based in Bickerstaffe House on Cookson Street, is to receive a further £353,000 from the Shared Prosperity Fund after its current grant of £410,000 ends in March.

The scheme has been singled out by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to be used as a case study for other areas of the country.

Councillors heard many of the people who walk through the door at The Platform would struggle to find work without its help.

Coun Diane Mitchell told a meeting of the Tourism, Economy and Communities Scrutiny Committee that there can be many barriers which prevent young people finding jobs.

She said: “In my ward I hear from hoteliers who struggle to find people to work for them and some of this goes back to mental health and confidence.

“Some people struggle with the lengths they have to go to to get a job. Even to work at McDonald’s you have to go through a test, and some young people will find that difficult even though they are more than capable of doing the job.”

Donna Clayton, Head of Blackpool Learning Rooms (adult learning classes run by the council), told the meeting these were the kind of issues The Platform had been set up to overcome.

She said: “Some people are too nervous to come along to places like The Platform but we work with partners including the Job Centre at getting them in and seeing what they are good at.

“We support them with things such as how to dress for an interview, how to apply for a job and what a CV is and build up their confidence.

“We continue to work with people to help them get qualifications in English and maths, which they may not have got at school but later in life they can still achieve them.”

The Platform launched in January 2022 in space in the the ground floor of Bickerstaffe House to offer employment and skills advice to young people aged 16 to 24 who are NEETs – not in education, employment or training.

Council employment advisors work alongside Jobcentre Plus work coaches
supported by the offers of a range of partner agencies. Between January 2022 and December 2024, it has helped 1,471 people including 371 with skills and training and 489 into work.