People in Barry say the closure of their Careers Wales office would be a major blow to the town. They say the service is invaluable to young people looking for advice.
Councillor Nic Hodges is the Plaid Cymru Councillor for the Baruc ward. He says “The loss of that expertise to our town, the loss of people working in our town centre, would be yet another body blow for our town. We’ve got to resist this, we’ve got to fight this, and people have got to get involved in this fight.”
If the office were to shut, the eighteen people who work there could lose their jobs and people in Barry would have to travel almost ten miles to the nearest office in Cardiff.
Sue Barrett from Rhoose says Careers Wales helped her two sons.
One of them, Carl, who is 17, is now doing a media course at Cardiff College the other is a manager at BT.
Mrs Barrett says travelling to Cardiff “is a long way to go, especially if you’re a working parent.
“I think it would have a big impact, plus the financial impact as well, travelling to Cardiff.”
The potential closure comes after wider cuts to Careers Wales funding. UNISON say sixty people across wales could lose their jobs.
Careers Wales say “All options were explored to address this shortfall but we are anticipating making the required savings via a Voluntary Early Release Scheme (VERS), in line with compulsory redundancy avoidance best practice.
“We commend staff for their ongoing resilience and professionalism as we strive to achieve greater stability for the organisation.”
The Welsh Government say “We are aware of Careers Wales’ decision to initiate consultation on a Voluntary Release Scheme and we hope and expect that Careers Wales, its staff and trade unions can work collaboratively on this issue to improve the long-term efficiency and financial sustainability of this important service.”
A thirty-day consultation about cuts to Careers Wales has just ended.
