People looking for work in Sunderland can now take advantage of an online tool that works a bit like speed dating for jobs.
The Labour Xchange tool allows those looking for flexible work, whether that’s a few extra hours on top of an existing job or something that will fit around family or other commitments to be matched with employers looking for temporary workers.
Sunderland City Council has worked with Labour Xchange to bring the service to Sunderland as a collaborative after hearing about its success in Southend and in the London boroughs of Lambeth and Croydon.
Councillor Linda Williams, Sunderland City Council’s Cabinet Member for Vibrant City, said: “This app is a handy digital tool for matching up people looking for flexible work with businesses looking for staff.
“We know that having a full-time or a permanent job doesn’t work for everyone. They might just be looking to do a few hours to fit in around caring or other responsibilities, to top up their wages from an existing employer, or to bring in a bit of extra cash in retirement.
“But the great thing about this scheme is that the way it works supports residents who may find traditional application processes off-putting or challenging. Workers who sign up to the Labour Xchange site just have to say what type of work they’re looking for and which days and times they want to work and the tool does the rest.
“We see this as something that will work especially well for adult social care, where it will support the recruitment of Personal Assistants, providing more flexibility for those wanting to fit this work around their life and responsibilities. But I would encourage anyone looking for flexible work to check it out. It could make all the difference in helping them find work that fits around them rather than the other way round. I’d also encourage employers to find out more about the benefits it offers too.”
Cabinet Secretary Councillor Paul Stewart added: “As a council which has been championing the Real Living Wage for a number of years, we’re delighted that this scheme supports our commitment to the Real Living Wage and to community wealth building, as Labour Xchange is a Real Living Wage accredited organisation and promotes this through the opportunities it offers.”
Since it was launched in other areas, the service has already been successful in helping match more than 5000 people with businesses looking for temporary or permanent workers, whilst also reducing the cost of recruitment for businesses of all types from SMEs through to larger corporate entities.
Paul Spillman and Jonathan Key from Labour Xchange said: “We have a simple yet important mission; to connect individuals looking for work by matching them with businesses who are looking for staff. We make this easy by removing the barriers to being found for work and making it easy and more cost-effective for all types of businesses to post their work opportunities out to willing workers.
“By fulfilling this mission, we can help people increase people’s income whilst helping businesses grow and prosper. Everything we do is driven by our core belief that everyone should benefit in the employment market, a win-win scenario with no losers. We have seen and experienced what it is like to desperately need slightly more money to cover all the bills, we also know how difficult it is in the current employment market to find work that fits around current employment or other commitments.
“We also know on the business side the difficulty in getting good staff be that temp or permanent to cover changes in staffing or demand. We work on the principle that the world of work should work for everyone, should not be exploitative and should be fair.”
To find out more about the app and download it visit: www.labourxchange.uk
Labour Xchange has also produced two useful videos showing how the site works for employees: https://vimeo.com/278422256
and employers: https://vimeo.com/278422269
