Even though Silx is not open at the moment we are continuing to support young people aged 16-25 in the Blyth area with any issues of Employability and personal support, this can include anything from  Job Searching and applying for a Job, CV creation or update,  housing advice, debt and budgeting advice, personal support on any issue of concern and of course a whole range of free online training courses.

 We go live on Zoom every Monday to Friday at 1 pm so the young people can log on and have access to our workers for advice, guidance and support. As well as the regular Zoom calls there is the opportunity to have one to one video appointments with workers, as well as telephone contact or email contact or even face to face meeting if required.

We have heard from a number of young people that they ‘don’t have to job search’ during the lockdown and yes, they are correct in a fashion.  The jobcentre plus is closed therefore if you are receiving Universal Credit, ESA or JSA you don’t need to attend your usual appointments in order to receive your benefit and yes in a way they are right and job searching does not ‘need’ to continue during this outbreak. However, the current situation doesn’t mean that you have to stop in your quest to find Employment or Training or return to education, yes nobody is going to mandate you to do anything however when this pandemic is over and life returns to normal you will appear much more employable and also show that you are self-motivated if you have continued to develop your skills during the lockdown.

What Can I do?

• Apply for Work- You can still apply for work during this time, jobs are still being posted daily on the government site and indeed and a number of employers are desperate for extra staff during this time. You may be given a temporary contract during this pandemic but this doesn’t mean that you won’t be kept on when life returns to normal.
• Update your CV- Workers are still on hand to help you with your CV, if you don’t have one we can help you make one via video call, phone call or email. If you need to update your CV, do it now, don’t wait until this is all over, contact us and we will help you with this.
• Volunteer- Why not look at how you could help during this time? There are a number of community organisations and charities that you could approach to offer support during this time. This will give you a great sense of achievement and will also add to your skills and CV. If you would like some support to look for a placement we can help you.
• Online Training- As we are all spending a lot of time at home, why not use that time to complete some training? we have a whole range of courses you can complete completely FREE, contact us and we can send you log in details for your course, you then can take your time to work through the course at home and once completed you will receive a certificate. If you require any support getting set up or further support whilst training workers are contactable 7 days a week and will be more than happy to help you.
• Apply for Benefits- If you are not currently receiving benefits and you should be and you are putting off applying until this is all over, don’t, you can still apply for most benefits online or over the phone. If you require support doing this, we can arrange a one to one video call or telephone call to assist you with the process.  If you are currently receiving benefits don’t forget even though the jobcentre is closed if your circumstances change you MUST report these.

Please reach out to us if you need us. We can be contacted via telephone on 07487535980 or 07950502919. You can email us at: silxteen@aol.com and you can find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.