A COMPANY boss has praised a new government scheme to get people off benefits and into work.

Andy Watmough, manager of Classic Sofas, Fletcher Street, Blackburn, said his company would have been unlikely to take on one of its latest employees if it had not been for the Government scheme Action for Jobs.

After three years without work, the new initiative for the unemployed helped 53-year-old Ann-Marie Melly find herself a job with the sofa company.

Ann-Marie from Bank Top said it had been "a real struggle" over the previous few years to find work because she didn't have any qualifications.

But with the help of Blackburn with Darwen's Action for Jobs team the door was opened to a place as a sewing machinist with Classic Sofas.

The scheme was set up in October last year and since then has helped 80 people swap a life on benefits for a return to the workplace.

Ann-Marie said: "Starting work after all that time really made my Christmas - it's made me feel more independent and I feel I'm actually doing something positive, rather than just hanging about at home."

Ann-Marie's job was made possible by the Action for Jobs team providing cash to allow one of Classic Sofas' employees take time out to train her from scratch.

Mr Watmough said: "The support from the Employment Service has been excellent, and I don't think we would have taken her on without the financial support we were given.

"The financial incentive helps and encourages you to try and give people a chance. We have taken another person on with the same scheme, on a training basis."

Blackburn with Darwen is one of 40 locations across the country to get part of £45million earmarked by the government to target unemployment hotspots.

Unemployed people living in Shadsworth, Bank Top, Brookhouse, Audley, Queens Park, Cathedral, Mill Hill, Green Lane, Higher Croft and Sudell can receive help from the Action for Jobs team.

Employment Service chief executive Leigh Lewis visited Classic Sofas to see how Ann-Marie Melly was getting on and meet company bosses.

He said: "The Blackburn with Darwen Action for Jobs team has already helped a great number of local people, in a variety of ways. The financial flexibilities they have at their disposal have enabled them to tackle unemployment barriers such as transport problems and skills shortages head-on."

SUITE DREAM: Ann-Marie Melly of Bank Top, Blackburn, at work at Classic Sofas, Blackburn, thanks to the local Action For Jobs team