Bath and North East Somerset councillors have welcomed a substantial fall in unemployment in the area, and stressed the role the council is playing in creating work opportunities.
The number of people claiming Jobseekers Allowance in the Bath parliamentary constituency has fallen by 12.1% year on year while in North East Somerset it is 11.6% lower. These contrast with a national decrease of 4.8%.
Council leader Paul Crossley, pictured, described the fall as “extremely impressive” and said: “Bath & North East Somerset Council is working extremely hard alongside companies in the private sector and also education establishments, like our colleges and universities, to give people the support they need in order to make the best of the opportunities in the local jobs market.”
Among council activities aimed at boosting the jobs market are:
- A range of targeted employment & training (TET) outcomes on Crest Nicholson’s Bath Western Riverside development. To date 10 apprentices and 10 unemployed skilled trades have been achieved and a total of 125 people up-skilled;
- Support for the Get Hired event earlier this month which brought together 25-plus local employers to participate in an apprentice speed dating event offering five- minute interviews for live vacancies;
- The Have a Go event organised by the B&NES Learning Partnership, which staged more than 4,500 taster apprenticeship sessions to 1,000-plus school students in February;
- Support for 47 business through business start-up workshops, one-to-one clinics, and UKTI and Intellectual Property workshops;
- Support for 26 apprenticeships in the Council with a completion rate of 94%.
These initiatives, says the council, are taking place to support the jobs market into the future.
Cabinet member for sustainable development Ben Stevens said: “The council is making excellent progress towards creating the right business conditions for jobs growth.
“For example, the delivery of the Bath Transport Package is providing the infrastructure for companies to get their employees, clients, and suppliers into the city quickly and conveniently. We are also investing heavily in high speed broadband.
“We are progressing the Bath City Riverside Enterprise Area in line with our plans for new workspace, which will provide the locations for thousands of new private sector jobs in the future.”
The area has also had a record number of new company registrations during the first half of the year in the area. There were 466 businesses formed during this period, beating any other half year on record, and representing a 14.4% rise on last year’s figure.
Cabinet member for community Resources, David Bellotti added: “We know that business is strong in Bath because of the demand for our commercial estate from shops, bars, and restaurants. With 96% of premises under contract, this represents a void rate way below the national average.
“The council's new procurement policy for the £190m it spends every year on goods and services is now focused on Think Local and this is directing the council spend more and more to local companies ensuring more jobs for local residents.”
