Two young men have made the cut in a scheme designed to help young unemployed people find work.
After completing a training and work experience programme with the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park authority, Jim Silvester from Ludchurch and Victor Strong from Milford Haven have been taken on as seasonal wardens.
The two young men will help maintain the park’s extensive footpath network and car parks over the holiday season.
The two are among scores of young people taking part in the UK Government funded Future Jobs Fund programme.
Pembrokeshire County Council successfully tendered to run the scheme last October with the aim of providing 160 job opportunities for 18 to 24 year olds who have been claiming Job Seekers Allowance for between six to 12 months.
The jobs, which are either with the local authority itself or its partner organisations, provide a paid work placement for 25 hours a week for up to 26 weeks at national minimum wage.
To date, job opportunities which have been filled range from classroom assistants at Sir Thomas Picton School to leisure attendants at sports centres across the County. Various voluntary organisations locally, such as Age Concern and the British Heart Foiundation, have also benefitted locally.
As part of the programme Victor and Jim have been working with the national park’s footpath and site warden teams gaining skills and expertise.
Steve Brick, Technical Officer at the Authority said the Future Jobs Fund wardens had been a real asset to the full time warden teams and had gained a wealth of valuable experience from them.
“They have been so successful that two of them have managed to secure full time seasonal warden posts, which will employ them up to the end of September. They will be helping to maintain our very well used footpath network, car parks and picnic sites during the busy holiday season.”
The park now hopes to start another three FJF wardens later in the year and run the same training and work experience for them.
Pembrokeshire County Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet member for Regeneration and Economic Development, Councillor John Allen-Mirehouse, said the Future Jobs Fund programme was a fantastic scheme, which offered young unemployment people worthwhile work experience.
“This helps them build on their existing skills and achieve qualifications so that can move into long-term employment” he said.
