Met catering signs up for New Deal

The catering department of London's Metropolitan Police has signed up to the Government's New Deal programme, designed to get unemployed youngsters into work.

Neville Dyckhoff, director of catering for the force, said at the Forum that he hoped to take on up to 200 workers through the New Deal over the next two years. Employers can get a £60-a-week subsidy for each person they take on and £750 towards training costs.

Dyckhoff said he would use the training subsidy to convert his organisation's in-house training programme into a National Vocational Qualification. This, he hoped, would help attract more recruits because they would then get transferable qualifications.

The New Deal had made job centre staff much more positive, claimed Dyckhoff. "They send us fewer people, but there are very few they send for interview that we don't offer a job."

Russell Scandrett, director of Midlands-based contractor Catering Alliance, said his firm was also looking to join New Deal. But he complained that it was almost impossible to get in touch with anyone at his local employment service.