Plymouth’s empty former Staples building is about to be brought back into use – as a Jobcentre.
The vast 7,000sq ft pile, on Charles Church roundabout, has been.
Now the Department for Work and Pensions is to lease the building and convert it into a Jobcentre Plus so it can cope with the increase in unemployed people due to the Covid pandemic and the effect it has had on the economy.
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Latest figures showed Plymouth has more than 11,000 Universal Credit claimants looking for work, more than double the figure pre-pandemic.
It has meant that the DWP has been recruiting heavily in the city, doubling the number of work coaches to more than 80.
The intention is to keep the existing Jobcentre offices in Devonport and Exeter Street, a stone’s throw from the former-Staples block, and utilise the space over two floors in the new location so social distancing will not be an issue. The building is being fitted out and staff expect to move in during April 2021 with a lease for at least two years.
And Jobcentre staff are particularly keen to welcome in young people who are looking for work, with a big drive to fill vacancies on the Government’s £2billion Kickstart Scheme for youngsters, which has seen national companies recruiting in the city for people to work from home.
“We are opening another Jobcentre that will run as a mirror image to Old Tree Court, in Exeter Street,” said Paul Paskins, Plymouth-based employment advisor with the DWP. “We will be able to bring a lot of people in.
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“With social distancing and people working from home we will be doing what’s called blended working, bringing people working from home into the Jobcentre and maintain social distancing and Covid rules.
“We need to be dealing with young people face-to-face, to encourage them and help them. This is not just for young people, but for everyone, but there will be a focus on young people.”
Youngsters have been among the hardest hit by pandemic-linked unemployment, with the number of young people out of work in the South West more than doubling during the past year as jobs were lost in retail and hospitality.
The number of people aged between 18 and 24 claiming benefits, representing more than 18% of total claimants in the region.
The rise in youth unemployment was particularly steep in Exeter, where it leapt 215% to 696 young people. In Plymouth there was a 94% rise to 2,043.
But there are also opportunities with 122 vacancies with Plymouth businesses under the Kickstart Scheme, which provides firms with funding for six-month placements. And there are an additional 100 vacancies for “virtual” placements with national companies.
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Me Paskins said many of the firms are looking to fill sales and marketing positions and the it has been driven by new companies formed during the pandemic.
“And not just retail,” he said. “This is small companies in all sectors. We are seeing a growth in the small business sector and Kickstart is a way of launching or expanding businesses.”
Plymouth’s Staples building was constructed in the early 2000s but was rebranded to Office Outlet when Staples’ US owner sold to Hilco Capital for a nominal sum in 2016.
The business had already been hit by the shift to online shopping and in 2018 began closing stores as part of a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) insolvency procedure.
Office Outlet went into administration in early 2019 and Plymouth’s store closed in April that year, with 93 others shutting around the same time as the business was eventually wound up.