AMMANFORD’S former Wilko staff have been supported by the Carmarthenshire job centre teams.

The DWP’s Carmarthenshire Employer and Partnership team and Careers Wales visited the Wilko stores – including Ammanford - to support staff who were affected by redundancies.

Their work helped the staff be familiar with the React funding scheme available through Careers Wales and the benefits that they were eligible to claim through DWP at the Jobcentres.

The team also found out that many of the former Wilko staff were able to secure alternative employment in other retail businesses such as B&M Retail, M&S, Tesco and Morrisons.

There was also a message of many retail sector employers increasing staff over the Christmas period, with many then being employed full or part time afterwards.

The DWP has been recruiting more work coaches to help in Jobcentres, with up to 20 new staff in the south-west Wales area. This will be on top of up to 153 Universal Credit Review staff for the Pembroke Dock Service Centre.

Attendees at the Ammanford, Llanelli and Carmarthen Jobcentres were provided with sessions by the NHS Hywel Dda UHB Future Workforce team with information and advice about NHS recruitment, work experience, volunteering and apprenticeship opportunities.

There are set to be further sessions planned at regular intervals in the future after the success of this month’s sessions.

The Carmarthenshire Jobcentre team attended an employment support roadshow at Trostre Park, Llanelli to promote local employment opportunities and help with employment support advice and CVs. They have also been working with Bouygues UK and employability partners for a Pentre Awel Construction Hub. The project will create more than 1,800 jobs and training/apprenticeship opportunities.

The offices have also been supporting Castell Howell who are recruiting for full-time night warehouse operatives, multi-drop drivers, HR officers and driver assistants.

Llanelli’s Fieldbay Nursing Home for Adults is looking for carers and driving assistants.

Fred Hatton of the Employer and Partnership Team said: “A lot of work is being undertaken in Carmarthenshire to bring together employers advertising jobs and those customers who are seeking work.

“Jobcentre work coaches and the employer and partnership teams are making a difference to the lives of jobseekers and changing their lives for the better. Furthermore, all this work results in boosting the economy of not just our county but also of Wales and the whole of the UK.

“Government statistics show that all our efforts are bearing fruit: Carmarthenshire has seen a drop in claimants to benefits by eight per cent since this time last year. For our county’s age 50+ benefit claimants, the unemployed figure is down by nine per cent since this time last year.”