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05 March 2012

Job Seekers Resource Centres take off in West Cork, but volunteers are needed to grow supports

Volunteer led centres to support job-seekers in Bandon, Kinsale and Clonakilty have been very busy in recent months. These centres were developed in response to the continuing crisis of unemployment in West Cork, and a recognition that each community can take positive effective action to support the needs of local Job-Seekers. The project has been developed and supported by West Cork Development Partnership under the Local Community Development Programme.

There are over 4,300 individuals on the live register in the three towns. The Job-Seekers Resource Centres (JRC’s) are a place of refuge and support for all job-seekers, where patrons will meet a friendly volunteer equipped with the knowledge, resources and facilities necessary to assist with a successful job-search. Services are provided free of charge and include CV preparation, job search, career options, finding training courses, dealing with agencies, exploring options, use of computer with broadband access, printing and photocopying.

Name Change:
Originally called Voluntary Employment Services, the name change to Job-Seekers Resource Centres more accurately reflects the nature of the services provided. However, the voluntary and community ethos underpinning the project in each town remains intact.


Moving Premises:
In Bandon the offices have moved around the corner from Weir Street to Factory Lane, very generously offered by John Desmond of Dessie electric for a second year.


In Clonakilty, the Job Seekers Resource Centre has moved from a shared facility with the Crazy Crocodile Youth Café to a dedicated office on Pearse Street, above Next Door off licence, munificently donated by Tom & Dena of O’Donovan’s hotel.  Thanks to the Crazy Croc for being generous hosts last year.


In Kinsale, the Red Cross continue to be our charitable landlords. A dedicated training centre has been developed in the building supported by Eily Lilly. In Kinsale, the Job-Seekers Resource centre operates in partnership with the Kinsale Parish Assembly.


Survey: A survey of Job-Seekers needs is underway in all three towns, kindly facilitated by Post Offices and Social Welfare Offices. The survey seeks job-seekers opinions on supports currently available and asks for recommendations for new services. The findings of this confidential survey will inform the continued evolution of services provided in the centres. All job-seekers are requested to complete the survey.

Volunteers: The Job Seekers Resource Centres have been getting busier every month since their establishment in 2011. Services are currently curtailed by the availability of volunteers. We wish to significantly expand the opening hours of services. For this we need more volunteers. A training course will commence in mid-March on Wednesday mornings in Bandon. Tuition for volunteers will concentrate on how to apply our dedicated tool-kit for job-seeking which has been developed specifically for use by volunteers in the Job-Seekers Resource Centres. Ideally volunteers will have some experience of working with the public and be IT literate.

Interested volunteers from all three towns should contact Fergal Conlon, in West Cork Development Partnership at 027 55169 or fergal@wcdp.ie
Find us on Facebook: -
For more information, find us on Facebook. Search for: - “Job Seekers Resource Centres - Kinsale, Bandon and Clonakilty”, or on the web at
www.westcorkjobsupport.com


 

Opening Hours – February 2012

  • Bandon: 9.30am-12.00 midday (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday) Tel: 023-8829710
  • Clonakilty: 10.00am-12.00midday (Tuesday & Thursday) Tel: 023-8859810
  • Kinsale: 9.30am-4.30pm (Tuesday) & 9.30am-1.00pm (Wednesday & Friday) Tel: 021-4773083 


West Cork Enterprise Board 8 Kent Street, Clonakilty, Co Cork Tel: 023 88 34700 Fax: 023 88 34702 Email: enterprise@wceb.ie Company Registration: 223808