Barnstaple Work Club will be held at Barnstaple Library and is hosted by Libraries Unlimited, the charity that runs all of Devon’s libraries.
The Work Club is also working alongside the ‘One Barnstaple’ Partnership to help improve the social wellbeing of people living in Barnstaple and outlying rural communities.
The club is free to join and will run from 10am to 1pm every Tuesday morning in the IT Suite of Barnstaple Library, with the first one being held on the 25 June.
It is anticipated that this new initiative can help as many people as the highly successful Bideford Work Club which is based at Bideford Library.
We have made a £4,000 investment in the new Barnstaple Work Hub and a cheque presentation was made at Wednesday’s 12-month anniversary celebration of Bideford Work Club, which already runs every Wednesday morning from 10am to 1pm in Bideford Library.
The Bideford Work Club is already paving the way for hundreds to secure employment, with a large number of their clients having already secured paid jobs.
The event also celebrated Volunteers Week, honoring the Work Club’s excellent volunteers, provided by TTVS.
They have developed their skills and more than half of them have found paid work as a result of being Work Club Volunteers.
The Bideford and Barnstaple Work Clubs are a drop-in support service for people who are seeking work, or advice around careers, training, volunteering or improving IT skills.
Our Community Connector Guy Braga said: “As a large provider of homes in the area we want to increase the access to opportunities and employability services for LiveWest customers and the wider community.
“This service is available to anyone over 16 who is looking for work, however in addition, LiveWest customers will also be able to access ongoing one-to-one support and can apply for bursaries to help them further.
“Thank you to Libraries Unlimited, Alabare, Asda, CSW, Learn Devon, TTVS, Cosmic, Intagr8, DWP for support in setting up this service.”
As well as LiveWest, Bideford Bridge Trust and Torridge District Council have helped to fund the Work Club, with the ethos of lifting people out of poverty and removing barriers such as isolation, mental health or disability.
Important local community organisations including Devon County Council’s adult education service, Learn Devon, Libraries Unlimited, CSW Group, TTVS, Cosmic, PLUSS, IntraG8, JCP and representatives from Department of Work and Pensions have all been involved to get the service up and running and are committed to make it a success for the people of Barnstaple and the surrounding areas.