In his first official visit to Wales as Secretary of State, James Purnell arrived in Rhyl to see for himself what support and training is on offer to help unemployed people into work.

At Rhyl F.C, Mr Purnell met local men Adam Terleckyj, 22, and Paul Sheppard, 24, who are currently being trained to become football coaches as part of a local programme called 'Rhyl Football in the Community'.

Young dad, Adam, had turned his hand to numerous "dead-end jobs" before signing up to the Jobcentre Plus 'New Deal' programme a year ago. Since then he has been referred to Working Links, and they arranged for him to join the City Strategy coaching programme. He said:

"It's given me a lot more confidence among groups of people, and I'm more open minded and proud of myself for what I do now."

"I feel like this has given me the chance to do something with my life. If I didn't have this, I'd be sitting at home wasting everybody's time."

Keen sportsman Paul, who has also been unemployed for more than a year, agrees. With a two-year-old son, and a baby girl expected in January, news that there was an opportunity to train locally as a football coach, with the chance of paid work at the end of it, came at just the right time.

"I was shocked to hear of the coaching course," said Paul. "It all happened very fast, but I'm absolutely loving it at the moment."

Commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions initiative, Rhyl City Strategy, the community programme provides training for 12 local unemployed people so they can become qualified football coaches, and gives them the opportunity - on completion of the programme - to use their new skills in paid coaching roles.

Secretary of State, James Purnell, said:

"Our City Strategy initiatives are all about engaging with people in deprived areas, who are often considered the hardest to reach, giving them extra support to help them out of poverty. There's no better way to do that than through work, and it's fantastic to see the effect a programme like 'Rhyl Football in the Community' can have on local people like Adam and Paul.

"Through such innovative ways of connecting with communities, pulling together public, private and voluntary sectors to provide a more localised approach to finding work for people in areas like Rhyl, we're proving our commitment to making sure that no-one is written off.

"We're currently facing up to unprecedented global economic challenges, and we know it's not easy at the moment for anyone looking for work. But through Jobcentre Plus, our 'Pathways to Work' and 'Want2Work' programmes in Wales, and indeed City Strategy, we are in a better position now than ever before to help people through this tricky time."