Poundworld has staffed one of its latest stores with the long-term unemployed.
The single-price retailer’s new Norwich store, which opened last week, handed positions to 36 locals recruited through employment advice agency Ingeus, a provider of the government’s Work Programme.
“We are committed to supporting local economies by providing job opportunities to those who really need them,” said Poundworld trading director Chris Edwards Junior.
Poundworld will open a further 50 stores in 2014, taking its total estate to 290. Regional HR manager Andrew Jeffrey said it would look to work with Ingeus again.
“We completely trust Ingeus to provide suitable applicants for interviews and so they save us massive amounts of time because we don’t need to advertise roles, sift through CVs or shortlist applicants,” he said. “We’ve recruited a really talented team here in Norwich.”
The new recruits include supervisor Andrew Wells (pictured, above right), who had previously struggled to get interviews and was out of work for 18 months, and 31-year-old Toby Doddridge (above, left), who had been unemployed for several years following a serious health issue.
“It can be very isolating being out of work and I’m already enjoying being part of such a busy team again here at Poundworld,” Doddridge said. “I had such a mix of roles on my CV that I think employers were put off, but Ingeus helped me focus on my core skills and I decided a retail job would be just right.”
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