Yorkshire Post: Three years and £150,000 to find nine men jobs

A THREE-YEAR scheme to get men into work in Yorkshire town troubled by deprivation has resulted in just nine people finding new careers - but has cost taxpayers more than £150,000.

The results have provoked criticism of the authority's job creation attempt and also concerns over political correctness, because the scheme aimed to guide more men into child care roles, employment traditionally dominated by female workers.

Rotherham Council launched the scheme, called Who Dares......Childcares, with the aim of getting men into jobs but later broadened the scheme to include parenting sessions and other associated matters.

It was financed with more than £150,000 provided jointly by the European Union and the Government-backed Learning and Skills Council.

During its three-year existence, it has taken credit for getting nine men into employment in the childcare field, one every four months on average.

Another 23 went on to college courses after involvement with scheme workers and the council insists it has also had a positive impact on changing attitudes among employers.

Rotherham was one of the communities badly affected by the loss of heavy industries including steel and coal mining late last century, although employment levels have since been recovering.

The Taxpayers Alliance has questioned the value of the investment and Chief Executive Matthew Elliott said: "It is a huge amount of money for a miniscule amount of jobs.

"It goes to show the public sector should not be involved in trying to micro-manage job creation.

"Most small businessmen I speak to would rather have lower taxes and then they would be able to create more jobs," he said.

The public sector had a poor track record for creating job opportunities and "always spend a lot of money and get poor results," said Mr Elliott.

Rotherham councillor John Turner said the childcare industry in Rotherham had been functioning satisfactorily without outside intervention.

"I don't know why we should have to spend such a colossal amount of money on changing things," he said.

"For what purpose? The waste of money is just inordinate. There are all sorts of cuts taking place in adult services.

"It seems to be going into the area of trivia, for political correctness. It is a gross waste of money to alter a system which works very, very well," he said.

Coun Turner said he believed the council should instead focus its energy on areas which were facing cuts.

Despite those concerns, Rotherham Council insists the project has been successful.

A council spokesman said: "We do feel the project has had a real impact on childcare locally to get more men involved, which goes way beyond just the number of men who are now employed in childcare.

"There are also those who have gone into training and those who are now involved with their local school, children's centre or childcare provider working as a volunteer or supporting specific projects.

"Our Dads Involvement Year worked with nearly 1,000 men and nearly a 1,000 children and events in previous years involved hundreds more.

"Some of the benefits from this are not about training and employment but are about dads and men generally getting more involved in looking after their own children and doing work with children and young people in their community.

"We've also worked hard with a group of employers so that they work with all sectors of their local community to improve the quality of childcare they provide.

"It is all this kind of work which has been recognised with an award at the 2006 National Daycare Awards and numerous invitations to national and regional events to share the scheme with other authorities who are interested in trying similar schemes in their area."