People who live in the Dover district will have better job seeking services available to them, the Mercury can reveal.

This comes after Dover District Council, Dover Jobcentre Plus and Work Programme providers signed a Joint Working Agreement to provide a focussed approach to tackling unemployment and reducing out of work benefits.

Job seekers will receive help in accessing job opportunities with local employers and will boost the promotion of apprenticeships for young people.

A tailored service will also be available, ensuring people have the right skills for new jobs.

The long-term unemployed will have guidance from the work programme providers, so that they have nothing standing in their way of getting back into work.

Leader of Dover District Council, Paul Watkins said: “This new agreement brings together various strands of work undertaken by each of the partners so that we can provide a more cohesive package of support to help people back into work.

"A number of major projects in the district are coming to fruition and we want to ensure that local people are best placed to make the most of these new opportunities.”

"Customer service operations manager at Dover Jobcentre Plus, Alison Culshaw, said: “By working together and joining forces, we will ensure that local jobseekers are in a better position to secure employment. Through doing so and working closely with local employers to understand their needs, we can ensure that unemployed people are prepared and have the skills employers are looking for.”