New job centre opens in Aylesbury

A new job centre opened in Aylesbury High Street today (23 March), containing newly-hired 10 work coaches.

The new Jobcentre Plus is only a temporary site, designed to help get residents back into jobs after the unpredictable landscape created by the pandemic.

It will offer an appointment-based service to Aylesbury jobseekers and is located in the heart of town.

A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) spokesman states the location was chosen as it is in close proximity to many major Aylesbury businesses.

The centre is also accessible to many Aylesbury and surrounding area residents, as it is nearby to many of the best public transport links in Bucks.

Additional temporary job centres are being created across the country as part of a government scheme to get 500,000 people currently out of work into jobs by the end of the summer.

This new DWP-led scheme has been called the ‘Way to Work’ campaign.

Shola Adegbite, a DWP work coach, who is assisting jobseekers at the new Aylesbury site venue: “I am thrilled that this site is opening, and colleagues are looking forward to it.

"I believe expanding our services better places us to deliver consistent customer experience and directly enables us to reach and support an increased number of customers.”

Nationally, the government's latest recruitment drive to find new job coaches, created 13,500 additional roles.

Minister for Employment, Mims Davies said: “We know this has been a challenging time for many people and that’s why we’re boosting our DWP Jobcentre support in every community of the UK, including here in Aylesbury.

“Every customer benefits from having a dedicated Work Coach. They know the local jobs market and work with local businesses to match jobseekers to the latest opportunities.

“It’s brilliant to see our Plan for Jobs in action, from Kickstart to Sector-based Work Academy Programmes, our Work Coaches are there to help people thrive and progress in work.”

Emma Duthie will run operations at the new site in Aylesbury, she has over 20 years experience working in the DWP.

She added: I am so thrilled to be part of this expansion, being able to pivot our service delivery to meet the needs of the customers in the community we serve is a privilege.

"And a service, I hope is transformative for many of our customers and their families.”