When Emma was elected in 2013 she pledged to do all she could to help those out of work in South Shields, Friday the 9th of October saw the arrival of Emma’s third Jobs Fair. Building on the success of her previous two Jobs Fairs the annual event has gone from strength to strength and has now become part of the fabric of South Shields’ calendar of events.
This year over 200 hundred job seekers attended hoping to find work.
Emma was able to attract 24 employers as well as services to assist with CV writing, job applications and interview skills.
Emma said she will continue to do all she can to help the unemployed in Shields, but added:
“It is a failure of this Tory Government that unemployment remains unacceptably high within this region, we have a rich history of skilled and proficient work but more needs to be done to bring skilled jobs to the area. We only have to look to the lack of support the Government have offered to workers at the SSI steelworks in Redcar, where over 2,200 jobs have been lost, to see what the Tories think of the North East. I will keep fighting for the unemployed in my constituency and continue to put pressure on the Government.”
Statistics show that there are over 2,000 people within South Shields claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance but this figure does not represent the true story. The stats do not represent those on the Work Programme, those who are unemployed but not eligible for state support and those who have been unfairly sanctioned. Furthermore, they mask what is really happening in the employment market with many people in low paid insecure work.
Emma said “I am sure that if you ask anyone on the Work Programme, they wouldn’t consider themselves employed and I know too well how being out of work can have a devastating impact on a person and their family.”
Speaking after the event Emma said:
“It was great to see such a diverse range employers offering the prospect of jobs, from small independent local companies to large multinationals and even large organisations such as Northumbria Police. I would like to again thank all of those who took part and supported my annual Jobs Fair. I’d especially like to thank South Tyneside Council, South Tyneside College and The Port of Tyne for their support and sponsorship. I wish everyone the best of luck in their search for a job.”
A link to the article published in the Shields Gazette and Emma’s interview with Made in Tyne and Wear can be found here.