A SCHEME to help job seekers and boost employment in Tendring has been extended and expanded.

Tendring Council linked up with Jobcentre Plus earlier in the year for the pilot project which includes working with businesses to identify job opportunities and find suitable candidates.

The scheme has been extended for another six months and new job clubs will be set up in key areas, including Walton and Brightlingsea.

Sarah Candy, Tendring Council’s inward investment and growth cabinet member hailed the pilot a success.

“This has been a very worthwhile project and something that we can now build on,” she said.

“The scheme is achieving national recognition and acclaim and that is why more resources are being channelled into it.”

Councillor Candy said the aim now is to link the development of new training programmes to the needs of existing firms to improve the chances of people being able to secure employment.

She added: “There has been a recent rise in the jobless figures for Tendring and hopefully we will be able to get that moving back downwards with initiatives such as this."

As part of the project a mock interview panel has been set up to boost the interview skills of job hunters.

Anyone interested in taking part can call 01255 686377.