​Community Jobs Scotland will see 1,400 posts created before March 2015

More third sector employers are being urged to get involved with Community Jobs Scotland (CJS) as the latest phase of the employment programme launched this week, backed by over £7.3m of Scottish Government funding.

The latest round of the initiative, which employs mostly young people in third sector organisations, will see 1,400 posts created between now and March 2015. This is on top of the 4,550 posts already created since the programme launched in August 2011.

In order to create as many opportunities as possible we’re encouraging more third sector organisations to get involved in the scheme

Each job lasts at least 39 weeks for 16 and 17-year-olds or a minimum of 26 weeks for 18 to 24-year-olds, with £5,000 funding available per vacancy.

Donna Mackinnon, director of employment services at the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, which administers the scheme on behalf of the third sector, said CJS was proving its worth many times over both to employees and third sector organisations.

“CJS has been hugely successful since it launched. Third sector employers have been able to increase their capacity in a period when funding has been tight,” she said.

“However in order to create as many opportunities as possible we’re encouraging more third sector organisations to get involved in the scheme.”