East of England Local Employment Partnership Award Winners Revealed

Employers in the East of England were celebrating on Friday 20 March 2009 at the Local Employment Partnership (LEP) awards ceremony held at Ickworth Hall in Bury St Edmunds. The awards recognised the outstanding contributions made by employers, employees and partners involved in LEPs with Jobcentre Plus - the Government's partnership approach to help disadvantaged jobseekers back into work.

The ceremony was hosted by Tim Campbell, the winner of the 2005 series of the Apprentice and founder of the Bright Ideas Trust.

Among the winning highlights were The Entertainer, Cineworld, Serco in Norwich and an individual award went to Dale Thompson for Work Skills.

Pleasure Wood Hills saw Dale's potential and took him on as a catering assistant as part of their commitment to give people from the local area a chance through its LEP with Jobcentre Plus.

Dale had no qualifications, but worked really hard to develop his skills with in-house training and has since progressed to Cook and Team Leader and helps with maintenance and cleaning in the off season.

Dale explains: "If it wasn't for this job, I'd be in prison by now. I had been looking for work, but because of the trouble I'd been in I never heard anything. I was really struggling to find a job, but Pleasurewood Hills saw what I could do and gave me a chance and it's changed my life. I've really sorted myself out, and now I've got the money to buy nice things for my daughter."

Winners of the East of England Local Employment Partnership Awards:

• Commitment to Diversity Award - Serco
• Unlocking Talent Award - The Entertainer
• Recruitment Innovation Award - Cineworld, Haverhill
• Partnership Works Award - Reed in Partnership
• Work Skills Award - Dale Thompson, Pleasurewood Hills
• Getting Back to Work Award - Clare La Riviere, ADSA, Luton
• Overall LEP Achievement Award - Serco

Video of event