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UKSE Supports North Lanarkshire Residents Back to Work

Ten community projects across North Lanarkshire have received a New Year funding boost to help them support local people back into work.

UK Steel Enterprise (UKSE) has awarded a total of £25,000 to 10 organisations, all of which are aiming to provide unemployed people with the skills and training they need to get back into employment.

UKSE worked with local employment and training initiative ‘North Lanarkshire's Working' to identify projects in the area which help local people improve their employability skills, boost their self-esteem and ultimately help them secure a job.

The following projects share the £25,000 funding from UKSE:

· Reeltime Music (Motherwell)

· One Parent Families Scotland (Choices project, Motherwell)

· Scottish Training Foundation (Motherwell)

· Bellshill and Mossend YMCA (Bellshill)

· Kirkshaws Neighbourhood Centre (Coatbridge)

· Monklands Women's Aid (Coatbridge)

· LAMH Recycle Ltd (Motherwell)

· Focus Youth Project (Uddingston)

· Lanarkshire Association for Mental Health (Wishaw)

· Routes to Work Ltd (Bellshill)

Anne Clyde, area manager for UKSE, said: “It is our role to actively support job creation in North Lanarkshire, and we are aware of the many projects which provide support and services aimed at helping local people get back into work.

“Many of these organisations need financial assistance in order to continue to deliver these valuable training programmes and we are delighted to work alongside North Lanarkshire's Working to provide a well deserved boost.”

Motherwell-based Reeltime Music is a community music charity which uses new media equipment such as video cameras, laptops and a recording studio to encourage local people, and especially young people, to learn new skills.

The charity will use its £2,500 grant from UKSE to purchase new technical equipment and to improve the quality of the training courses it offers, including sound engineering and production skills.

Ryan Currie, project manager at Reeltime, added: “As we are a charitable organisation it can often be difficult to buy and maintain the technical equipment we need. To deliver our workshops and help our users improve their skills we need to produce good quality work and this requires our equipment to be of a high standard.

“We are extremely grateful for the UKSE grant. It will allow those who will use the new equipment to create work to be proud of and hopefully help them find employment through their projects.”

Maureen McConachie, Head of Regeneration Services at North Lanarkshire Council, said: “Voluntary groups and community organisations such as Reeltime Music and One Parent Families Scotland play an important part in supporting individuals back into work and I am delighted that they are to receive this funding boost as they start the New Year.