Joint agency taskforce opens up new employment for hundreds of former Debenhams staff in Peterborough

Up to 500 people were facing redundancy with the closure of the Debenhams’ warehouse in Kingston Park, Hampton, following the collapse of the 242-year-old department store chain last year.

Now it has been revealed that at least half of the Debenhams’ staff have already found alternative jobs after joint action by local government bodies, colleges plus jobs and careers services and employers.

The agencies combined with local companies to find and promote vacancies, offer advice and support to redundant staff and provide training where needed.

It was an action reminiscent of the national taskforce set up two years ago to support thousands of former Thomas Cook staff in the wake of the holiday giant’s collapse.

News of combined agencies’ success comes as just released figures show the number of people claiming Universal Credit in the Peterborough local authority area has risen by 2.2 per cent.

It means there were 26,713 people claiming Universal Credit at January 14 - up by 582 people on the previous four weeks.

The rate of increase for England is 1.6 per cent where there are 5,198,673 claimants and 1.7 per cent across the East of England, which has 498,851 claimants.

But a spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensions said finding so many jobs so quickly for Debenhams’ staff highlighted the buoyancy of the city’s jobs market.

He said: “A really good indicator of the strength of Peterborough’s economy is the fact that 50 per cent of the staff at the Debenhams warehouse, which is in the process of closing, have already found alternative work.

“It is still tough for people but there are plenty of vacancies out there.

He added: “The increase in claimants is really tracking the rate we have seen since the start of the Covid pandemic.

“Peterborough has higher than average employment so any continued recession will impact the city more than other areas.

“But we are seeing good employment levels in Peterborough. We find a growing number of claimants are reporting in their conversations with us that they have found work of various types and duration.

“We are seeing real green shoots of recovery and there are more than 600 vacancies on our website in a range of sectors.”

Peterborough MP Paul Bristow said: “It has been an incredibly tough time for so many people and for businesses and jobs - this is why lockdown can’t continue a day longer than necessary.

“But the city economy is buoyant and there are many companies that want to move to the city.”

Tom Hennessy, chief executive of Opportunity Peterborough, said: “Through informal conversations with former Debenhams staff we understand that around half have already found work through introductions to local employers, sharing live vacancies, and redundancy support.

“This continues to be a joint effort between Opportunity Peterborough, Serco, Futures For You, the National Careers Service, DWP, the JobCentre, City College Peterborough, Peterborough College, and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, as well as local employers who have been quick to share their job opportunities and offer their support.

“Seeing so many people secure new job opportunities shows how resilient is Peterborough’s economy.

Mr Hennessy added: “Only a small number of staff remain on site to support the Boohoo acquisition.

“A resource page is still available on the Opportunity Peterborough website to signpost the people that have been made redundant to training courses, job opportunities, and to the redundancy support which is available to them for up to three months free of charge.”

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