Report
to the People
10th
March 2003
Picking up the PACE
Tucked away behind the trees on the site of the old Scott’s Shipyard sheds stands a success story. A success story which has quietly grown over the past seven years. The Royal Bank of Scotland Mortgage Centre – a modern building of steel and glass in which are employed 750 people in the Inverclyde travel to work area – now deals with £10 billion of business a year.
While my visit there last week certainly lifted my spirits, it is important to reflect that this transformation has been far from painless. Change is neither an easy process on the community nor the individual – as anyone who has been made redundant will tell you.
You go from one day being at your work, surrounded by friends, news and gossip, to the next, sitting at home alone. Your confidence is quickly affected, you don’t feel ready or able to tackle the bureaucracy of job hunting and there is a danger that you become isolated.
You need to be around others who’re in the same boat, who can give you good advice, the benefit of their experience, or even a tip on who’s hiring and where.
And this is where the Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) team comes in.
When I visited their Westburn Street HQ the other week, they impressed me with the range of one-to-one help and resources they make available. The team brings together, for example, trade unions, community support services, benefit checks, money management advice and, of course, the careers office.
They are also, remember, completely independent of the Benefits Agency and the Job Centre – so the services they offer are different from those in the "One" office in Dalrymple Street.
While it was set up in response to the job losses either side of the New Year, I have assurances from the head of the team, Gordon McGuiness, that anyone who has been recently laid off – whether by an agency or directly by an electronics manufacturer – can access the facilities his team provides.
The PACE staff have also told me that, although the response so far has been very good, not everyone who is eligible to take advantage of the scheme has yet done so. If this includes you, and you’re not sure whether contacting the PACE team is for you, consider the experiences of the men and women I met there the other week – all said they would recommend it to others as a worthwhile exercise.
You can call the PACE team on 01475 793 171.
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