As part of a continuing commitment to focus on employee development, The Needles Park have taken part in a course which gives some of the Isle of Wight’s unemployed the chance to learn valuable new skills and most importantly, to secure meaningful long-term employment.
For the third year running, The Needles Park has worked with Jobcentre Plus (JCP), Isle of Wight College and Tourism South East (TSE) to play an integral part in this beneficial and rewarding scheme. During the course, the candidates learn valuable customer service skills which are very beneficial in any industry, let alone an island environment that relies so heavily on the tourism industry.
Marino Zanti, General Manager at The Needles Park, is hugely impressed with the scheme as it gives his business a chance to help local people gain employment. The scheme has been so successful that many of the original candidates from year one are still employed by The Needles Park and continue to grow and develop their skills, which can only strengthen the island’s tourism economy in the long-term.
Kerrie Honey from Jobcentre Plus has been involved with this programme from day one and is rightfully proud of the scheme’s achievements. She said:
“Filling local employers’ vacancies is what we do every day and working in partnership enhances this service, giving the employer exactly what they need from a member of staff and helping our customers to get into work”.
The Island’s College plays a vital role in helping young people to understand their own talents and to be the best they can be. With this in mind, working in partnership with JCP and local employers was a natural progression. Speaking on behalf of the college, Hannah Chessel commented:
“This scheme is hugely beneficial for all parties and opens-up real opportunities for people to gain employment and skills. This is the third consecutive year that we have worked with the Needles Park and JCP on a successful sector-based work academy, which has benefited the local community and created employment opportunities.
“I would really like to see more local businesses taking the lead from The Needles Park as employers rarely get the opportunity to tailor a pre-employment package to ensure that potential employees have the training and skills required before they reach interview stage”.
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Photographed L–R: Peter Colling, managing director of Tourism South East with 3 new Needles Park employees Adam Forehead, Susan Fever and Jedi Bird; Marino Zanti, General Manager at The Needles Park and Naomi Sondergaard, Training Manager at The Needles Park.
