Job seekers in Northumberland are set to benefit from a newly funded 'job club' service, run by Community Action Northumberland (CAN).

The job clubs, known as Hubs, aim to assist unemployed residents in rural areas.

These drop-in Hubs are located at community venues in six market towns across Northumberland; Amble, Haltwhistle, Hexham, Morpeth and Prudhoe.

Challenges faced by rural jobseekers include lack of local job, volunteering, and training opportunities, increased travel costs, and poor internet connections.

The Hubs offer services such as free internet access, careers advice, assistance with writing CVs, one-to-one IT skills support and help addressing underlying health and social welfare issues.

Funding has been secured from the North of Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA) through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Julia Plinston, the Community Development Officer at CAN, said: The hubs have been well used ever since the first one opened in 2015, but when our last funding stream ended in March the future looked uncertain. Now we can look forward to welcoming many more people through our doors.”

One success story from the job club is Karl, who had been attending the CAN job club for 17 months.

Karl praised the professionalism of the service and credited it with guiding him towards potential employment opportunities.

Karl has now been offered a permanent position at a school.

He said: "I feel very happy now having that sense of security. I can sleep at night now."

Learn more by emailing juliaplinston@ca-north.org.uk, calling Julie on 01670 51717 or by visiting ca-north.org.uk.