THE ANNUAL Tendring Jobs & Careers Fair will be held on Tuesday 1st October, from 10:00am- 4:00pm at the Princes Theatre, Town Hall, Clacton on Sea. Hundreds of jobs will be available and there will be approx. 55 national and local employers exhibiting.

NEW FOR THIS YEAR - come and visit the ‘Hands on Skills Activity Area’ say the organisers which will be in a marquee in the Town Hall car park, where you will be able to try a whole range of activities including bricklaying, carpentry, mock cocktail making - plus lots more.

For all enquires, e mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The following businesses have provided generous sponsorship in helping Tendring District stage the 2019 event: Affinity Water, Park Holidays, Rose Builders, Surya Foods & Surya Hotels.

Last years event

An estimated 1,400 people came along to Clacton’s Princes Theatre for this year’s Tendring Jobs and Careers Fair on Tuesday October 2^nd, where more than 55 exhibitors had stands in a bid to attract new recruits to job vacancies, training opportunities and even long-term career options.

Although numbers were slightly down on the previous year, this also reflects a decline in the unemployment rate locally - although there were approximately 550 jobs available on the day to those looking for work.

Employers at the event ranged from the armed forces, care companies and hospitality firms, to boat builders, retailers and manufacturers, while the jobs board contained a whole host of other vacancies from businesses across the district who could not all fit into the venue.

Some candidates were even offered interviews on the day as part of the hiring process and we are certain many of those will get new jobs.

For all the latest news about this year's event, please visit the dedicated Facebook page:

ABC Comment: Polish up your CV and get along is the answer.

The baby boomer generation are coming of age and having to deal with parents, relatives and friends that die.

Chuchill have produced this very interesting guide: A Guide To Coping With Death & Grief-https://www.churchill.com/life-insurance/coping-with-death-grief

This is a difficult topic, but this is a situation most people will have to face at sometime in their lives. Thus understanding that situation however personal is not unique. 

This guide hope will help. PLEASE click below: 

ABC Comment, have your say below:

LONELINESS IN LATER LIFE - Research has shown, that almost 4.5 million older people claim to have felt lonely during later life.

225,000 older people often go for a week without speaking to anyone.

Over 6 million older people say just a few minutes of conversation makes a difference to their week.

Over half a million of those who’ve been lonely claim it stops them going out and about in everyday life.

In a typical week almost 2.6 million people aged 65 and over speak to three or fewer people they know, with over 225,000 often going a week without speaking to anyone at all. New research revealed today by Cadbury Dairy Milk and Age UK illustrates the impact of loneliness with over half a million of those who’ve been lonely claiming it stops them going out and about in everyday life with almost 4.5 million older people claiming to have felt lonely during later life.

That’s why Cadbury Dairy Milk is launching a new brand campaign Donate Your Words in support of Age UK. For the first time ever the UK’s number one chocolate brand will be removing the words from its iconic bars and ‘donating’ them to the Charity to help alleviate loneliness amongst older people. The limited-edition bar will be sold in supermarkets nationwide with 30p from each bar going towards Age UK to help provide vital services and support when older people need it most.

The campaign will also encourage Brits to donate their words by pledging to reach out and have a chat with older people in their communities.

The survey found that simple, small gestures can play a part in helping to tackle loneliness with over 6 million older people claiming a few minutes of conversation would make a huge difference to their week. According to the survey, some of the actions that would help older people feel more confident when outside the home are:

1. Knowing their neighbours – 38%
2. Someone smiling or saying hello when at bus stop/in a queue – 26%
3. Neighbour stopping to say hello – 24%
4. Someone asking how their day has gone – 21%

Laura Gray, Brand Manager at Mondelez said “We’re so proud to announce this partnership and to be supporting Age UK - it’s such an important charity that is really tackling the issue of loneliness. We are donating the words from our bars of Cadbury Dairy Milk and encouraging people up and down the country to donate theirs through small gestures that could really help change the lives of older people.”

When asked, 55% of 16-45-year olds surveyed claim they’re worried about growing lonely in older age and 64% believing it gets harder to hold onto relationships the older you get.

While 67% of those aged 16-45 admitted they would be likely to do something that could potentially help boost the confidence of an older person who felt lonely, the research revealed the top five issues stopping them helping someone who they think feels lonely:

1. They’re worried the other person won't respond well (37%)
2. They’re too shy (30%)
3. They don’t know how to help (27%)
4. Find it hard to tell if someone needs help (25%)
5. Too busy (25%)

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK, said: “Loneliness is a huge problem because retirement, bereavement & ill health mean many older people find they are spending a lot less time enjoying the company of others than they’d like.

“Loneliness can affect your health, your wellbeing and the way you see yourself - it can make you feel invisible and forgotten. Working with Cadbury Dairy Milk on this campaign could really help to raise even more awareness of the issue and encourage everybody to do their bit to help tackle it.

“A friendly “hello” or “how are you?” is something most of us take for granted – it’s just part of everyday life, but these latest figures show that hundreds of thousands of older people in the UK will spend today and the rest of this week alone, with no one to share even a few simple words with. That’s why Age UK’s expert advice and support services are so crucial and help people in all sorts of ways, every day of the year.”

For more information about the Cadbury Dairy Milk Donate Your Words campaign visit www.ageuk.org.uk/donateyourwords  and pick up a bar in store today.

ABC Comments, have your say below:

HOUSING BENEFIT- £2.1 billion net benefits would also be delivered over the next three years according to new report from Crisis. 

 Restoring the levels of housing benefit, otherwise known as Local Housing Allowance (LHA), so they truly cover market rents has the potential to prevent more than 6,000 households from being pushed into homelessness and also lift more than 35,000 children out of poverty in the next three years in the UK.

As part of Crisis’ Cover the Cost campaign, new research released today, conducted by Alma Economics, outlines the three-year cost and benefit analysis of a Government investment of £3.3 billion in LHA for immediate net benefits of £2.1 billion (1). More specifically, the charity is calling for £820 million in the next year as part of upcoming spending decisions.

Lifting the benefits freeze and investing in LHA would help thousands currently on the brink of homelessness as they could truly cover the cost of the cheapest 30% of market rents. Restored levels of LHA would also help those already homeless to afford a rented home and significantly reduce the number of families and individuals turning to their local council for help – reducing the use of homelessness services and extremely expensive temporary accommodation.

Alongside the immediate net benefits of £2.1 billion over the three years, this would also give the Government time to build a sufficient supply of truly affordable housing in the years to come whilst ensuring that homelessness across the country doesn’t continue to rise.

LHA is the housing benefit aspect of Universal Credit, providing support to those on low incomes who are unable to meet the cost of private rent. LHA rates were originally set to ensure the recipient could afford the cheapest third of properties in their area, meaning most were able to access a safe and stable home to build their lives in.

But following series of cuts to LHA over the years – including a four-year freeze from 2016 – the rates are not keeping up with the cost of rents in most areas across the country, meaning safe, affordable housing is becoming increasingly difficult to find.  With families and individuals often accumulating debt having to make up the shortfall between their LHA and rent, this mounting financial pressure means they are easily forced out of their home and into homelessness.

At its core, LHA provides the opportunity to prevent more people becoming homeless by providing the right support. This potential will only be fully reached though if it is sufficiently funded and helps provide the right level of financial security to those in vulnerable circumstances. This is why Crisis is now calling on the Government to commit to restoring the LHA rates so that they cover the true cost of rent.

Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive of Crisis, said:

 “Everyone in our society should have the means to rent a safe, stable home where they can build their lives. But every day at Crisis, we hear of the agonising stress and anxiety people face, unable to afford their rent and keep the roof over their head. Right now people are losing their homes and being left trapped in homelessness, unable to get back into adequate housing. We have to stop this happening.

“The UK Government has made commitments to end rough sleeping and reduce homelessness, but without addressing the root causes behind homelessness, it will sadly continue to rise. Long-term solutions like building more affordable social homes will take time so in the meantime, investing in LHA, so it covers the true cost of rents, provides the quickest and most effective opportunity to help those already homeless back into housing and for thousands more, prevent it from happening in the first place.

“Over the coming weeks, we urge the Government to prioritise investment in Local Housing Allowance as part of its upcoming spending decisions – this research makes a clear-cut case that doing so will have an immediate financial and human impact. Ending homelessness for good is truly within our capabilities but will only be made possible by taking steps like this.”

Terrie Alafat CBE, Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, said:

 "The Chartered Institute of Housing is pleased to join Crisis and so many other organisations in calling on the government to restore local housing allowance to cover the most affordable 30 per cent of rents. 

"It is a national shame that thousands of families face being made homeless and councils are spending £1 billion a year on temporary accommodation because LHA is failing to do its job. Addressing this issue will bring the government significant savings in the benefit bill, as well as giving some of our most vulnerable fellow-citizens a more secure environment in which to live.

"A staggering 97 per cent of private rents in England are currently simply unaffordable under benefit rules. This leaves thousands of families having to choose between paying their rent and feeding their children. The social and economic cost of this broken system simply cannot be justified."

ABC comment, have your say below:

HOLY ALLIANCES REPORT - from think tank Demos shows that due to austerity, more churches are partnering with non-faith voluntary organisations to tackle local issues such as poverty, mental health and loneliness. This report, based on a survey of 120 church leaders, 10 expert interviews and 12 case study interviews, reveals that churches are almost four times as likely to partner with non-faith voluntary organisations (23%) than businesses (6%) to tackle these challenges.

Research shows that partnership working has led to a number of benefits including unlocking resources and funding, boosting impact, administrative support and assistance in targeting the right group. Whilst there are a number of positive outcomes from church-secular partnerships, the report also highlights some difficulties, including a fear of the religious motivation of church volunteers from secular partners, which could lead to a lack of trust.

The report calls for local authorities to seek to address any practical barriers to partnership working between churches and non-Christian groups, such as making funding for social action projects more accessible to churches.

Holy Alliances has also made a number of other recommendations, including the discouragement of blanket policies against working with faith groups, and for local authorities to build on the good work of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Faith.

Holy Alliances: Church-secular partnerships for social good was co-authored by David Barclay, Partner at The Good Faith Partnership

Image: An example of an ancient medieval church.

ABC Comment, have your say below:

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES - Fancy joining the Essex Police. This advertisement below explains the opportunity.

What the Police have to say: 

We are once again open for recruiting those who want to join our family at Essex Police.

Our officer numbers are at a four-year high with more than 3,000 full-time equivalent police officers since July this year as well as the fastest growing Special Constabulary in the county with more than 500 Specials. Find out more on our website at: www.essex.police.uk/fitthebill In June this year our passing out parade was a record in the modern history of Essex Police, with 73 new officers, 25 of which were women, completing their training and joining colleagues on the frontline. By March 2020 we expect our officer numbers to have reach more than 3,200. But we want even more people to be part of our journey and that’s why we are launching our latest Fit the Bill campaign.

The campaign features social media films focusing on the ‘journey’ of our officers – both their life journey before they joined Essex Police as well as their journey with the force and the opportunities they have been given since becoming part of our family. Case studies include officers who have moved from other parts of the country to join Essex Police, those who have transferred from neighbouring forces, people who have carried out other jobs before joining up and those with a lifelong ambition of protecting their communities. Assistant Chief Constable Andy Prophet said “Along with our great county, Essex Police is an amazing place to be. “Our officer numbers are at a four-year high and they are set to grow even further over the coming year.

We have just introduced our new Town Centre Teams to ensure that now, more than ever, we are visible and accessible to the communities we serve and our Special Constabulary is the fastest growing in the country. “Essex has always been a great place to live and work and our police force gives people the chance to have a career where you can save lives, lock up criminals, deliver justice to victims and really make a difference to our communities. Our force also offers real opportunities to progress and specialise and no two days are ever the same. If you Fit the Bill then come and be part of our journey and we will part of yours.” PC Tyha Currie joined who lives in Hertfordshire and commutes to work is now hoping to work towards becoming an accredited detective. She said: “ I’ve always had an investigative mind-set and Essex Police is allowing me to follow my dream. Essex is a great place to work and the force offers amazing opportunities and prospects to branch out into any specialist role you want. I love my job and can’t believe it took me so long to take the leap and join”.

Jacob Pascoe, who moved from Cornwall to begin his career at Essex Police, said: “Essex is a great place to live and work. The opportunities afforded by the Essex Police are fantastic for ambitious people, and for those that are motivated to make a positive difference in people’s lives. If you are from out of county and considering joining the police, I would urge you to do as I did, to embark on an adventure in Essex”. To be eligible to join Essex Police as a Constable applicants must: be 18 or over; be a British citizen or from a country which is a member of the European Economic area; possess a full UK driving licence; ideally not have a criminal record or any previous criminal convictions or cautions; and have reached an education standard of two A Levels or equivalent.

<End>

PARLIAMENT IN SESSION - MPs head back to Westminster today from their summer recess, straight into the mother of all political storms.

Technically there are 58 days until Brexit Day but in the current situation who knows what will happen? 

'Keep Calm and Carry On.'

ABC Comments, have your say below:

UNIVERSAL CREDIT - Claimants reported having less than £100 left at the end of each month after paying their bills, according to recent rearch byCitizens Advice.

The benefits freeze is leaving thousands of benefit claimants in the UK without money to pay for essentials like food, bills, and rent. 73% of claimants are said to have servius rent arrears.

Two in five of them say they have less than £100 left to live off at the end of each month after paying for their household bills, food, rent or mortgage, and council tax.

Up to 55 percent of people on Universal Credit said they have had to forego paying for the basics because they struggle financially even on benefits, Citizens Advice research revealed.

Nearly half of all benefit claimants said this was an issue for them, with 40 percent having lost sleep due to money worries in the last year.

The survey of 2,751 working-age adults also found that disabled people and people with children were more likely to have gone without essentials like food and toiletries.

Critics have pointed out that the gap between the rich and poor is growing because of benefits cuts. This could eventually destabilize society.

ABC Comments, have your say below:

FUNDING HELP - The Flexible Support Fund (FSF) is a fund offered by local Jobcentres at the discretion of Jobcentre Plus advisers.

The fund can help you buy clothes, tools, uniforms and pay for training. Anything that can help you get a job. Many people are not aware that this help is available. You can apply more than once and as it is a grant it does not have to be repaid. However, it cannot be used to fund items you have already purchased.

The fund was introduced in 2011 to replace previous schemes such as: The Deprived Areas Fund, The Adviser Discretion Fund, The Travel to Interview Scheme.

The fund has been underspent and that is because few claimants know about it.  If you need help ask your work coach at Jobcentre Plus for more information.

ABC Comment, have your say below:

USA - New statistics just released show the following:

People born from 1957 to 1964, the latter years of the baby boom, held an average of 12.3 jobs from ages 18 to 52. Nearly half of these jobs were held from ages 18 to 24. On average, men held 12.5 jobs and women held 12.1 jobs from ages 18 to 52.

ABC Comment, have your say below: