A GREAT work placement has been cooked up through a new employment scheme in North East Lincolnshire.
Following the success of Work Pairing in Scotland, it has arrived here and 18-year-old Danny Garthwaite is one teenager to benefit.
He has begun a six-month paid catering placement at the Fresco cafe, on the Enterprise Business Park, Prince Albert Gardens, Grimsby.
He has praised Work Pairing as a "great idea", helping him gain employment experience.
The scheme is available to anyone aged 16 to 18 and places them on paid work experience within chosen professions.
It is organised by North East Lincolnshire Council, in association with the Young People's Support Services and the Change Programme, and comes as the Grimsby Telegraph's Your Life Your Future campaign continues apace.
Danny said: "I have always been into cooking and catering ever since I was five.
"I studied hospitality and catering at the Grimsby Institute and this follows on from what I have learned.
"Hopefully this experience will give me an advantage over others and help me get a job. This placement will make a big difference to my CV. I really enjoy helping with preparation and serving customers. I really want to have my own place in the future like a restaurant.
Danny, who found out about the programme through the Job Centre, said: "I finished college and found it really hard to find a job. I was looking for four weeks when someone told me about Work Pairing.
"It has given me a lot of support and the cafe is a really great place."
Cafe manager Joan Gilbertson said: "It's a really good scheme to let young people try out different jobs.
"They handle all of the interview and recruitment process, which makes it hassle-free for employers; it can cost a lot of time and money.
"Having the extra help that Danny brings is really useful. It has allowed me to get on with other tasks in the cafe.
"It's great experience for the young people and anyone with the placement on their CV should be more interesting to employers."
Work Pairing project co-ordinator Sally Johnston added: "The project aims to give young people a placement for six months in their desired trade.
"We can arrange placements anywhere, we already have young people on placements in retail, admin, graphic design and construction."
