Caerphilly Assembly Candidate, Owen Meredith, has announced details of his ‘Jobs Trust’ plan which will target support to the unemployed and match skills to local job opportunities.
If elected on May 5th, he will create a ‘Caerphilly Jobs Trust’ that will develop partnerships between schools, colleges and local employers. It will also seek to facilitate inward investment by working with the business community to promote Caerphilly to the wider world. In the longer term Mr Meredith says he hopes the trust will act as a source of venture capital to support local entrepreneurs and encourage new business start ups.
Owen said: “This is a new way of thinking to help tackle Caerphilly’s long standing employment challenge. More than 40% of working age people in this constituency are not in jobs and not active in the economy. We cannot go on like this!”
Mr Meredith highlighted the latest employment data which he says shows the Caerphilly desperately need a new approach on jobs. The latest data shows that in Caerphilly constituency:
- 2,574 people are claiming Job Seekers Allowance
- 17,800 people are economical inactive – 34.4% of the population. The 3rd highest rate in Wales.
- 12,450 people are claiming out of work benefits.
- Our employment rate is just 59.4%
- The business birth rate is 33.67 per 10,000 population – the 4th lowest in Wales.
Mr Meredith commented:
“If that is not proof enough that we need change, just look at the job creation rate. In the last 3 months 143,000 jobs were created in the UK economy – depressingly just 2,000 of those are in Wales.”
“Of course, there is no silver bullet to solving our jobs crisis in Caerphilly, but a new approach where we join up thinking between educators and employers; support people to find work with jobs clubs; and encourage entrepreneurs to start new businesses by slashing tax rates and cutting rates tape will be a vital step forward.
“Working together we can create the enterprise led economy that Caerphilly desperately needs.
“For the 2,574 people claiming Jobseekers Allowance; For the 8,100 people looking for work; For the 925 young people out of work, education or training – we need a positive change for Caerphilly.”
