Pertemps Employment Alliance has launched a new initiative to help unemployed people gain the skills needed to get back to work.

The initiative, Skills for Living, aims to improve the numeracy and literacy of long-term unemployed people. There are currently around 40 learners enrolled on the course.

Nin Wong, basic skills tutor at Pertemps Employment Alliance (PEA), says: “The response from learners has been really good. They have attended regularly and have shown a high level of motivation to achieve. It’s a new course but we have been really encouraged by the reaction of those attending and we hope it will gain in popularity as more people learn exactly what’s available and how we can help them.”

The course is open to people aged 25 and over who are claiming Jobseekers Allowance.