There is good news for the unemployed in Kilkenny — the Kilkenny Jobs Club is to remain open following a scare that it was to shut down today, Friday April 29.
A lifeline has been thrown to the club by St Canice’s Community Action limited who oversees the running of the Father McGrath Centre.
The organisation has been offered the opportunity to make an application to FAS to take over the club and act as the sponsor following the decision of the Noreside Resource Centre to pull its sponsorship almost a month ago.
Details of the new partnership are not yet clear as the application must still be approved however, at this stage of developments it is known that St Canice’s Community Action Limited have agreed to sponsor the club into the future.
The lack of a sponsor would have led to the demise of the club, which in this economic climate provides a host of much-needed services for those who find themselves without work — many for the first time.
The staff at the club were yesterday given an extension to their contracts until May 20 while the hand over is taking place letting the two staff at the club breathe a sigh of relief following a month of not knowing what was happening to their jobs.
Speaking to the Kilkenny Advertiser yesterday, Stephen Murphy, manager of the Fr McGrath Centre said that they were delighted to be given the opportunity to take over the running of the Kilkenny Jobs Club.
“We have just come out of a meeting with FAS and the working committee and following discussions we are hoping that we will soon be the new sponsor of Kilkenny Jobs Club. We have great plans for the club into the future and I think you will see some interesting developments and possibly even expansions of the Kilkenny Jobs Club in the next 12 months if our application is successful, and we are very confident at this stage,” said Mr Murphy.
The staff at the Kilkenny Jobs Club said that they were relieved to hear the news of the take-over and in particular that their contracts were being continued in the interim until the take over was official.
Ken Kirwin a member of the working group involved in the talks with FAS and the proposed new sponsor said that he was hopeful that a conclusion had been reached on the issue and that the Kilkenny Jobs Club could now look forward to a bright future.
The club has been operating from it’s premises in the Abbey Business Centre for 12 years and has excellent client progression rates to jobs and to upskilling in training and education programmes. Besides CV's, letters, interview skills and application form preparations the Kilkenny Jobs Club runs an open session every Thursday afternoon and a network group meeting facility. They also provide a much-needed service to all job seekers looking for the necessary information and/or next step after they become unemployed.
