Celebrating job opportunities in Haringey

Iain Duncan Smith MP, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, joined Daniel Levy, Chairman, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, at White Hart Lane this morning to celebrate the creation of over 600 job opportunities in Haringey.

The Club, through its Foundation, has created job opportunities for Haringey residents via jobs fairs, apprenticeship schemes and partner initiatives through a unique partnership with Haringey Council and the Department for Work and Pensions.

Today saw the unveiling of the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation Digivan, media-equipped mobile employment unit, designed to offer skills training, CV writing sessions and employability programmes onboard at locations across Haringey.

The Digivan, delivered via a partnership between the Club, Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and Haringey Council, and supported by People’s Postcode Lottery, Barnet and Southgate College, Peabody Trust, will be available to be booked by local community groups to enable the Foundation to take employability outreach work to hard-to-reach young people within the local community.

The Club has also today played host to the Big Hospitality Conversation, the latest in a long line of employment fairs held at White Hart Lane, aimed generating job opportunities, work placements and apprenticeships in the hospitality sector for 16-24 year old Haringey residents.

Daniel Levy said: “This represents another significant step in the Club’s continued drive to create employment opportunities for local people, using the unique appeal of Tottenham Hotspur.

“By working in partnership with the Club and Haringey Council through Job Centre Plus, we have already created over 600 job opportunities in less than two years, and this figure will continue to rise as the Club’s stadium regeneration scheme gathers pace.

“We host jobs fairs and careers events at White Hart Lane on a regular basis, and our award-winning Foundation is now increasing this offering to local people with the introduction of the Digivan, which is Tottenham Hotspur-branded and fully equipped to provide a mobile careers and employment advice service that can access some of the most hard-to-reach groups within our community.”

Iain Duncan Smith MP said: “Every young person should be given the opportunity to develop the skills they need to take advantage of the record number of vacancies currently available in the UK economy.

"Through Jobcentre Plus, and our partnerships with jobs schemes such as the excellent one being run by Tottenham Hotspur, we are supporting them to do just that.

"I was really impressed by what I saw today: the enthusiasm of the young people taking part - as well as the dedication of the advisers. I hope to see many more such projects developed in the future."

The Big Hospitality Conversation is the first of its kind to be delivered in partnership with a Premier League football club. Previous events have generated over 38,000 job opportunities for young people in the hospitality and tourism industries.

Household names including Costa, Hilton and Nandos are pledging live job and training vacancies throughout the day, alongside Tottenham Hotspur Foundation’s education and employment team who will be on hand to offer practical employability advice and guidance on gaining relevant qualifications, interview techniques and careers choices.

Ufi Ibrahim, CEO of the British Hospitality Association, said: “Hospitality and tourism is just as competitive as football. Our Big Hospitality Conversation campaign is designed to attract the talent we need to compete internationally and to fulfill the growing number of vacancies resulting from our industry’s continuing growth. Like football scouts - hundreds of industry chief executives have committed to travelling across the country with us, to spot talent, and to share their experience and advice with jobseekers. Therefore, we could not have asked for a better partner than the Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. We know there is latent talent in Tottenham, and we aim to find it.”