Reading College, Jobcentre Plus and Grosvenor Casino have rallied together to offer an outstretched hand to Reading’s unemployed in a great show of togetherness.
When Grosvenor Casino decided to open a new venue in Rose Kiln Lane, Reading, it knew that it needed employees who would create a wonderful experience for their customers. So what better way than to create a special work academy and train them to the high standards that you expect? This simple, and highly effective idea, was presented to Jobcentre Plus who then approached Reading College to seek and train candidates in a special ‘sector-based work academy’.
Sian Jones, Employee Advisor at Jobcentre Plus told Get Reading, “Through this scheme employers have access to work-ready candidates with the right skills to sustain and grow their business, and ensure that any new staff members taken on are tailor-made to be successful.” She continued, “Similarly, with skills shortages being a huge stumbling block for many job seekers, this programme is designed to provide all of the necessary training and development for them to perform well and get a good job.”
It is a great piece of forward thinking by Grosvenor and one that should ensure a high skill level, and aptitude, from the people that it recruits.
Lesley Donoghue, principal at Reading College, also told Get Reading, “Reading is a thriving town with a great future and a really positive attitude but we do have areas where people are unemployed, and it’s a really serious concern for us. However, there is more optimism, I would say, in Reading than other areas and a really strong indication of that is the attitude of employers. An example of that is Grosvenor, who have taken on these unemployed people.”
The college and the casino worked together to create a six-week course that contained training in areas such as food hygiene, how to manage conflict and tension and how to spot, and manage, problem gamblers.
The £6.4 million casino contains 17 gaming tables, 10 poker tables and a variety of 30 different electronic gaming machines. Over 120 jobs were created when the casino opened earlier this year.
