Jobcentre Plus

A Tamworth single mum is urging other Staffordshire lone parents looking for work to take advantage of help on offer from their local Jobcentre. Beverley Sandbrook, from Waterfall Lane, has secured a new job with local estate agent Dixons thanks to the New Deal for Lone Parents scheme.

Beverley, aged 44, said: "I just want to shout from the roof tops about how delighted I am to be back at work thanks to the help I received from my New Deal for Lone Parents adviser Raj. He provided a brilliant service - always there for me. I want to tell the world my story and hope it will inspire other single parents who want to get back to work to take advantage of the huge range of help there is out there."

"I've had it hard in recent months, having to move out of my home and surviving on benefits. Raj helped me turn things around. Through attending a Discovery Week run by Connexions, specially run for Lone Parents, I joined the local programme centre and from there started a NVQ level 3 course in administration. Leanne Giblins, my tutor at Tamworth College, helped me find the placement at Dixons. This was the turning point; identifying skills I never knew I had helped me find the career I wanted. When I was offered a permanent job with Dixons, Raj did a better off in work calculation for me and helped me to arrange my in work benefits."

Specialist Lone Parent advisers at Jobcentre Plus can help lone parents overcome barriers to work; discuss their situation and goals, and help them work out what works best for them and their children.

Raj Ranch, who's based at Tamworth Jobcentre Plus, Saxon Mill Lane added: "It was a pleasure to work with Beverley as she is so motivated and positive. She is truly an inspiration to other lone parents and we wish her every success in her new career."

More information about New Deal for Lone Parents is available by calling 0800 587 4242 (7am to 11pm, seven days a week); textphone 0845 606 0680; or by visiting the local Jobcentre or Jobcentre Plus office, or by visiting the Jobcentre Plus website

Notes to editors:

Jobcentre Plus, part of the Department for Work and Pensions, brings together employment and benefit services for people of working age and is a key element in the Government's objectives to help people based on 'Work for those who can, support for those who cannot'. It provides a professional and modern service to meet the diverse needs of employers and those seeking work, including:

• Personal advisers to provide practical support and advice to help those in need find and keep work, including training provision and benefits guidance
• A dedicated service to support employers in filling their vacancies quickly and successfully, including the ability to place jobs online
• Ability to search for jobs both online and over the phone through Jobpoints in Jobcentre Plus offices, the Jobseeker Direct phone line and through the website
• Swift, secure and professional access to benefits for those entitled to them.

Customers can access Jobcentre Plus services through around 1,000 locations across Great Britain, including over 800 newly refurbished Jobcentre Plus offices. Touch-screen terminals and Customer Access Phones are also available in a further 120 sites such as libraries and local authority premises. Jobcentre Plus works with over 275,000 employers to place 17,000 people into work every week. Over 400,000 vacancies are listed each week on its website and more than 4m job search requests are received, making it the number one UK recruitment website. For further information on the services that Jobcentre Plus provides employers and people of working age visit the Jobcentre Plus website

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Website: www.dwp.gov.uk