Programme to help unemployed people find work comes to Chippenham

A MAN made redundant nine times during his career is now running a service that helps unemployed people in Chippenham to find work.

Philip James is an Employment Development Coordinator working for the Employment Plus programme at the town’s Salvation Army hall.

People can come and meet Philip at Employment Plus and learn skills to help them find work such as writing a CV.

He can also support them with tasks such as filling in application forms and using computers to search for work.

“I know what it’s like to be unemployed after being made redundant nine times and I can empathise with people who are trying to find work because I know how demoralising it can be”, said Philip who is 53 and lives in Weston-super-mare.I’d worked in a variety of retail outlets and for training and recruitment companies before I was made redundant the last time around nine years ago. I found myself at a point where I was re-evaluating my career and the opportunity came along to work on the Employment Plus programme and I’ve been doing that since 2010.  

“I use my experiences to help other people. In one case, I supported a man who was keen to get healthy and get back to work and his ill-health was a barrier to him finding work – he wanted to be a driver. A nearby Salvation Army charity shop was looking for someone to drive their van and I helped him complete his application form and prepare for his interview.

"He was offered the job and has been working there for just over a year and it’s incredibly rewarding to be able to put my Christian beliefs into practice every day by helping people.” added Philip.

Philip is at The Salvation Army in Foghamshire hall every Wednesday between 10.00am and 1.00pm.

“It’s great to have Philip coming to the hall every week for The Salvation Army in Chippenham to be able to provide the Employment Plus service to people in our community who are looking for work”, said Major Dawn McGarvey of The Salvation Army in Chippenham.

“It’s often the case that people who are looking for work are not able to find the specialist support that they need, but with Philip, we have an expert on hand who is here to do just that and I’m very grateful that he’s here.”

Employment Plus is just one of the many services provided by The Salvation Army to the people of Chippenham.  

The Salvation Army in Chippenham is looking for volunteers to help out with its Friday computer club. For more information, please contact Major Dawn McGarvey on 01249 655458.