£2.8 Million To Help People Facing Redundancy

17 November 2010, 04:00

Nearly £300m has been given to a project which supports people across Norfolk and Suffolk who could be losing their job.

The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) has today added £2.8 million worth of European Social Funds (ESF) to continue its 'Response to Redundancy' programme -  a project which helps people to re-train, learn new skills and find new jobs.

Deborah Cadman, chief executive at EEDA, said:

"Despite encouraging signs of economic recovery, local businesses will continue to feel the aftershock of a global recession for months and years to come, with redundancies an unfortunate but inevitable by-product.

“EEDA’s Response to Redundancy programme targets those small companies and supply chains that lack the financial reserves to fully support individuals facing redundancy. With new investment from the ESF, we expect a further 8,000 people to receive the help they need over the next year.”

The Response to Redundancy (R2R) 2011 programme will now be managed by The Consultancy Home Counties Ltd (TCHC) on behalf of EEDA, following a competitive tendering process. R2R works in tandem with other support services including Jobcentre Plus to ensure people get the right support to meet their individual needs."

Dale Morgan, chief executive of TCHC, said:

"TCHC is delighted to have been awarded this contract that will enable us to continue the excellent work that we have been doing in partnership with Jobcentre Plus, stakeholders and partner providers for the past two and a half years.

To date we have helped more than 10,000 people who have been affected by redundancy. I am very proud to say that with our help over 6,700 people (67 per cent) have found new employment within 13 weeks. It is important for people to know in these difficult times that thanks to EEDA’s foresight, there is good help, advice and funding available to help people across the East of England."