CHARITY SET TO HELP THOUSANDS INTO WORK

CDG has been named as one of the three prime contractors for London East and is one of two such contractors from the charity sector across the UK and the only one in the capital.

In London East, Careers Development Group will be working with 60,000 people, often with multiple barriers to work to help them find work, and to stay in work for the long term.

CDG will be tackling these challenges (from Monday 13 June) and helping people into sustainable work both through its own centres  and in partnership with many voluntary and private sector delivery partners to help deal with people’s specific needs such as substance abuse and health problems.

CDG will also be helping to deliver the Work Programme in other areas including London West and the South East (Thames Valley, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight) as part of being a member of a strategic alliance with international welfare to work provider,  MAXIMUS. This alliance combines the expertise of the private and charitable sectors, with the common goal of supporting people into work. 

Roy O’Shaughnessy, chief executive of Careers Development Group said:

“The Work Programme is a great opportunity to show how charities like Careers Development Group can have a major impact in helping people into work and helping them to stay in work.

“As a charity with nearly 30 years' experience we have first class committed staff with the skills to be a success. In London East we, with our partners, will be supporting nearly 60,000 people on their journey into work over the next five years.

“Everyone should be able to work given the right help. We treat everybody equally and believe that everyone, no matter what their difficulties and challenges are, can be supported into work.”

The Work Programme will replace current welfare to work contracts such as New Deal and Flexible New Deal.

The London East area where jobseekers will be supported by CDG as prime provider covers the London Boroughs of Hackney, Waltham Forest, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Redbridge, Havering, Barking and Dagenham, City of London, Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham, Greenwich, Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Sutton and Merton.

Notes to editors:

Further information
Further information from CDG head of communications Mark Brooks on 07766 197 727 or email mark.brooks@cdguk.org.

About Careers Development Group (CDG)
CDG is a leading welfare to work charity with nearly 30 years’ experience in helping those who are unemployed find and sustain employment. Many of the people CDG supports have multiple barriers to employment including a lack of recent work experience, disabilities, health problems and a lack of relevant employability skills. CDG supported over 30,000 people with their journey back to work in 2010.

The ESF programme in London is under the strategic direction of the Mayor of London and a proportion of ESF funding has been set aside to support one of the Work Programme’s customer groups.

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