A VITAL frontline service in Okehampton helping the unemployed get back into work has been safeguarded for the next year.

The Friday work club at the Ockment Centre has been preserved for the next 12 months thanks to a donation of £8,190 from Okehampton United Charities. The club provides a vital weekly service for anyone who needs it to seek much needed support to help them get back to work.

Geoff Mills, co-ordinator of the club, goes the extra mile to provide the services necessary for each user. As well as helping people write CVs, the club also helps people search and apply for jobs online, rebuild their confidence through socialising, improving interview and telephone techniques, and Geoff is always on hand for moral support.

Geoff gives up hours of his own free time to ensure the club functions to meet the needs of everyone who attends, carrying out paperwork and writing CVs in his spare time.

He said: ‘I am very grateful to Okehampton United Charities for their support — without that I just can’t do it. With Jobcentre Plus planning to pull out we were worried it might go but the support from the united charities will keep it going. We often go through a quiet spell in August but the number of people using the service is picking up again. Jobcentre Plus will also continue to refer Okehampton residents to us. One thing we need to ensure is that if Jobcentre Plus does make people sign on in Exeter, they do it on a different day so that it doesn’t affect us here.’

There had been great concern that the Friday work club could close after Jobcentre Plus announced its plans to pull its outreach service out of the Ockment Centre. This would not only have a damaging effect for people using the club but it also could have affected the future of the centre’s Friday Hub, a service where representatives from Learn Devon, Sanctuary Supported Living, RISE Recovery and Integration Service, Citizen’s Advice Bureau and Rethink Mental Illness are available to speak to on a range of issues, from debt to addiction to housing advice.

Karen Percival, clerk for Okehampton United Charities, said that the charity’s trustees were unanimous in their support for the club and keen to see it funded for another year.

Jenny Hopkins, from the Ockment Centre, said: ‘This funding means people in Okehampton still have an outlet to help them get back into work. They will still get that extra support from the Friday Hub. We have worked hard to develop a range of services that are open to anyone who wants support or help.

‘We were worried there may be nothing left if Jobcentre Plus go ahead with their plans to pull out of Okehampton but this has secured the club for another year. We are having further discussions with the Department for Work and Pensions on whether we can offer a Skype service here on Fridays for people living in Okehampton to speak to their work coaches via video link. Hopefully that is something we can sort out, we will have to wait and see.’

The work club has worked in partnership with Learn Devon which will be running an ‘Explore Your Potential’ course in the Ockment Centre each Friday afternoon where people can learn a range of skills to help them become more employable. The course, which starts on Friday, November 6, is only open to those signing on with Jobcentre Plus for Job Seeker’s Allowance.

For more details contact the Ockment Centre on 01837 53276 or call into the reception.