WALTHAM FOREST: Mayor pledges 20m to Olympic jobs (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

WALTHAM FOREST: Mayor pledges 20m to Olympic jobs

4:14pm Wednesday 17th March 2010

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THE Mayor of London has announced a £20m programme to get the unemployed into Olympic jobs as the number of people out of work continues to rise.

Waltham Forest has seen yet another rise in the number of unemployed, according to the latest figures.

The Office of National Statistics today revealed more than 8,800 people were claiming Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) in February.

This figure is an increase of 305 people since December last year.

Across the capital, unemlployment rose by more than 9,000 people in the same period, despite a sharp fall of 33,000 in the numbers claiming JSA nationally.

The two schemes have been announced by London Mayor Boris Johnson.

The Five Borough Skills and Employment project will see £15 million from the London Development Agency (LDA) and £12.8 million funding from the five Olympic host boroughs.

The money will be used to get long-term unemployed into work jobs, including Olympic jobs, for 12 months.

The other project is the 2012 Employment Legacy scheme, which will see £4.6 million from the LDA used to help people from across the capital into Olympic jobs and to help them stay in employment after the games have finished.

Mr Johnson said: "We want to make sure plenty of the 173,000 opportunities created by our investment in the Olympic and Paralympic Games are accessed by people in the five host boroughs and across London.

"We are creating jobs to equip unemployed Londoners with the whole range of necessary skills, to remove the barriers that prevent them from getting into work and staying employed."

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