An innovative scheme will plough £3 million into Bradford to help the long-term unemployed to find jobs.

StepUp aims to help more than 300 people in the city get a guaranteed paid job over the next two years.

It has been launched by the Department of Work and Pensions to help the jobless in Little Horton, Tong and University areas.

Bradford West MP Marsha Singh, who is backing the scheme, said it was important to get people onto the job ladder.

"There are pockets of unemployment in Bradford which we need to tackle," he said. "I see families living in Bradford where grandfathers, fathers and children are unemployed and it is this cycle we have to break."

StepUp is designed for people who have not been able to secure a full-time job after a New Deal programme and is being piloted in 20 areas across the country with £40million invested overall.

It guarantees a job for 50 weeks which will pay the minimum wage and provide a stepping stone for people by improving their skills.

Trevor Underwood runs Aquarline on Barkerend Road, Bradford, which manufactures and distributes pet and aquatic equipment and he has an employee on the StepUp scheme.

"I got 327 applicants for a warehouse job," he said. "It took me a whole weekend to read the application forms but with StepUp anybody who comes to you is pre-screened."

Prospective employers who were at the launch at the Hanover International Hotel were told they would also receive a fee for offering a StepUp Job.

The scheme is being managed by Bradford-based agent IMS Ltd which organises the paperwork and provides support, making it hassle free.

Gary Sykes, district manager of Jobcentre Plus in Bradford, is working in partnership with them to deliver the scheme and wants to hear from prospective employers.

"StepUp builds on the huge success of New Deal helping people to gain the valuable skills and experience that they need to achieve permanent sustainable employment," he said.

T&A opinion