New City Partnership helps people get into work

In challenging economic times Canterbury City Centre Partnership and Canterbury Training & Recruitment (CTR); Canterbury’s newest business service have developed a new and inspiring approach to help young people and adults get into work.

CTR recently opened its doors at Canterbury College and the unique service offers local employers a free skills-matching service, free jobs brokerage and access to professional training solutions.

In the summer Philippe Esclasse from the City Centre Partnership and Alison King from the Business Development team at Canterbury College worked together to create a partnership that would meet the needs of local employers across the City, whilst enabling the College’s students to gain access to employment opportunities.

Alison King, Business Development Manager said: ‘This initiative has provided our students with the opportunity to gain valuable real work experience whilst undertaking study at the College. The two factors of qualifications and experience are increasingly important to all employers and we are delighted to be able to support our students in this way.

The College has been working hard to place students in a range of different roles including shop floor customer service staff to stock room assistants. Peter Scutt, Manager of Whitefriars opened the doors to the larger retailers including Next, and Fenwicks. Peter said: ‘This is a fantastic opportunity for the City to get a high standard of employee; with the College screening all candidates put forward we know we will only get the best students for our essential part time, full time and Christmas vacancies.’

The Canterbury City Partnership consists of many of the city’s large retailers including Fenwicks, Marks & Spencer, smaller independent traders, as well as Canterbury College and Canterbury City Council. The Partnership meets once a month to promote business development opportunities within the city. Mr Esclasse said: “In our meetings finding the right staff is always high on the Agenda. There are so many people looking for jobs and these days it’s about finding the right candidate. Canterbury College is the City’s local College and our collaboration with CTR has enabled local students at our local college to gain local jobs.

CTR is a Canterbury College venture staffed by commercially experienced recruitment specialists who between them have 15 years experience of working in professional recruitment agencies across Kent.
The service also provides Business Account Managers who undertake organisation needs analysis and set up training.

The City Centre Partnership introduced the CTR team to a number of local employers across the city and their professional services have already proven successful. The service is currently in discussions with city centre employers about a two week taster courses in Retail which will provide candidates with the necessary skills and expertise needed to work in the retail sector. The service is also launching a new range of work focused training for people who have been unemployed for over six months, designed to provide interview skills, help with application forms and CV’s to build confidence, which leads to useful qualifications and job opportunities.  

In today's business climate where the right staff teams are often key factors to business success, CTR is proving the perfect solution for everything from seasonal vacancies to professional training.