MORE than 300 jobs are to be created across Worcestershire for young people struggling to find work.

The Government has agreed to fund the creation of 309 new roles in the public sector, including at least 19 in the city.

It follows a successful bid for £1.98 million of Government cash.

The majority of jobs - 250 - will be created within the training agency Pertemps People Development Group.

Although it isn’t clear where those roles will be based, they will involve recruiting for the care, hospitality, retail and administration sectors.

Other jobs created will include new street wardens, assistant play and youth workers, health trainees and park wardens at Worcester City Council, three new administrators at Worcester Arts Workshop and two new jobs at Malvern Hills District Council.

Twelve jobs will be created in the county council’s transport, countryside, adult and community services and environmental services teams.

The cash was awarded after a bid to the Future Jobs Fund by the Worcestershire Partnership - made up of councils, NHS bodies, the police, Jobcentre, and the chamber of commerce.

The new Department for Work and Pensions initiative focuses on 18 to 24-year-olds who have been out of work for about a year.

The new positions will be for at least six months and provide work for at least 25 hours per week. They will not be affected by planned cuts to local authority budgets because they will be funded directly from central Government.

Worcestershire county councillor Simon Geraghty, cabinet member for the economy, said the bid award was “excellent news” for the county’s jobseekers.

Ian Austin, minister for the West Midlands, said: “We're showing people we're on their side by increasing training and providing extra help for young people to find work.”

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