Norfolk is leading the way in finding employment for young people through a national scheme, as the county council revealed its 300th Future Jobs Fund employee has started work.

Norfolk County Council has successfully bid for £8.4 million from the Department of Work and Pensions to create 1,296 jobs by March 2011. The 300th employee funded through the scheme, Gaelin Little from Norwich, began work at the Norfolk & Norwich Festival last month, confirming that Norfolk County Council is leading the way regionally and nationally in starting people at work through the Future Jobs Fund scheme.

Norfolk County Council together with its partner Jobcentre Plus has had more success in filling the available positions than any other Future Jobs Fund coordinator in the region. The county council is also in the top five nationally for the total number of employees that have already started work.

Ann Steward, Cabinet Member for Economic Development at Norfolk County Council, said:

I'm so pleased that we've had such a great reaction to the initiative in Norfolk. A lot of credit must go to our economic development team at the county council and our partners at Jobcentre Plus for not letting the grass grow under our feet and getting the jobs out there to young people who will really benefit from getting a bit of a leg-up at what remains a tough time for finding employment.

The Future Jobs Fund really is a win-win for employers and employees – the former get an extra, fully paid for member of staff for six months and the employee gains valuable work experience and a regular income. We're still keen to hear from organisations who are interested in taking on an employee through the scheme as we have a few positions still not linked to employers.

The Future Jobs Fund programme fully funds six-month work placements for young people who have been struggling to find employment. The placements are paid at the minimum wage for 25 hours per week, mostly at community-based organisations and social enterprises that need support but wouldn't otherwise be able to finance them. The programme began in October last year and more jobs are becoming available through the Jobcentre Plus each month.

Norfolk & Norwich Festival successfully bid for 10 Future Jobs work placements in its production, marketing, visual arts, development, administration and creative learning departments. All 10 new recruits started with Gaelin on 2 February 2010 and will see the organisation through its annual Festival in May this year.

Norfolk & Norwich Festival is the international arts festival for the East of England and is one of top five city arts festivals in the UK with a world-class programme of music, theatre, dance, circus, visual arts, children's events and outdoor spectaculars.

Executive director, Alison McFarlane said:

The new team members have already made a huge difference right across the organisation. We are committed to helping talented people start careers in the arts, and the Future Jobs Fund has enabled us to work closely with some incredibly talented individuals.

Norfolk County Council led the bids for Future Jobs Fund jobs on behalf of the Norfolk County Strategic Partnership (NCSP), which brings together more than 300 representatives from the public, private, voluntary and community sectors across Norfolk. Jobcentre Plus has also provided vital support for the bid in referring eligible candidates on to the positions that are created through the scheme.

Source:  Norfolk County Council