SUFFOLK New College is to receive extra government funding to train the unemployed and help them back into work, it has been announced.

SUFFOLK New College is to receive extra government funding to train the unemployed and help them back into work, it has been announced.

Skills secretary John Denham revealed that the college is one of 18 in the east of England to be given a share of �83 million to offer high quality training places to the long-term jobless.

The new funding is in addition to the existing support on offer in colleges to people who are unemployed.

Courses will span from hospitality to vocational training at the equivalent of A-level standard.

Those accessing the courses will also be able to continue their training once they find work, ensuring that they learn a range of skills which will help them secure sustainable employment.

The investment combined with �100 million announced in October 2008 to help those facing redundancy means the new support will help more than 100,000 people nationally.

Barbara Follett, minister for the East of England, said: “It is essential that people who have been out of the jobs market for a long time are given a fair and fighting chance to get back to work.

“They can only do so if equipped with the right skills for the job. Increasing training opportunities in the region will help people match their skills to the jobs that are out there.

“This will benefit the long term unemployed and help communities and colleges across the region to play an important role in the East of England's economic recovery.”

Skills Secretary John Denham added: “We will not stand by and leave people abandoned on the dole with no support.

“Our primary aim is to keep the time people spend out of work to a minimum while making the return to work a stepping stone to a more skilled future.”

How are you overcoming the recession blues? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk