More than 200 businesses have pledged their loyalty to Gloucester and declared their determination to build its future prosperity.

They have signed the 'Gloucester Works City Commitment', which recognises the importance of skills to the city's economic progress.

Many of these businesses have taken practical steps over the last year to train their existing staff, and shape the training of future employees through Gloucester Works.

"Our priority as a city must be to help improve people's prospects," said Ahmed Goga, director of Gloucester Works. "We can't force the pace of businesses to create new jobs, but we can make sure that our workforce is ready to respond to those companies recovering from the recession.

"All our focus now is on supporting the unemployed, listening to what businesses need and trying to match the skills of job seekers with the requirements of employers. We need businesses to keep talking to us, and for them to know that there is a pool of at least 1,000 people in the city who are actively taking steps to get 'job-ready'.


"That's why we're launching the 'Gloucester Works Jobs Drive' in The Citizen. Over the next few months we'll be sharing the experiences of job seekers and employers in the city, and would like to hear from businesses interested in signing up to the City Commitment."

Paul James, leader of Gloucester City Council, recently visited a Gloucester Works 'Jobs Hub' at Gloucester Library.

He said: "During my visit I was able to meet job seekers who are benefiting from the Jobs Hub and find out more about the courses available to them - I was very impressed with both the flexibility and breadth of programmes on offer through Gloucester Works. The results of their efforts are very encouraging; we have seen unemployment figures fall for much of the last year which is impressive in such a difficult economic climate.

"However, we can't afford to be complacent as unemployment in the area is still too high. To help combat this, I believe that local businesses have a crucial role to play in the development of skills in the city. There's no better asset to a business than a motivated and highly-trained workforce."

Gloucestershire Airport signed the City Commitment and Kim Davenport, business development and landside operations manager, has seen its business improve as a result of the training staff received.

She comments: "With the aviation industry continually developing, it's vital we train our staff to meet the demands of this fast paced environment. Staff completed courses ranging from team leader training for our line managers to customer service training for front desk staff. We have since won a customer service award trophy from the airline Manx2.com, which would not have been possible without the help and guidance from Gloucester Works."

For more information on the City Commitment visit www.gloucesterworks.co.uk/ citycommitment or else call 01452 396814.