A MAN, who was made redundant nine times during his career, is running a service to help unemployed people in Chippenham find work.

Phillip James, originally from Weston-Super-Mare, is an Employment Development Coordinator working for the Employment Plus programme at the town’s Salvation Army hall.

The 53-year-old, who worked in retail outlets and training agencies throughout his career, will help jobless people learn important skills such as: writing a CV, filling in application forms and using computers to search for work.

He said: “I know what it’s like to be unemployed after being made redundant nine times.

“I can empathise with people who are trying to find work because I know how demoralising it can be.

“It’s incredibly rewarding to be able to put my Christian beliefs into practice every day by helping people.”

Major Dawn McGarvey of The Salvation Army in Chippenham said: “It’s great to have Philip coming to the hall every week for The Salvation Army in Chippenham to be able to provide the Employment Plus service to people in our community who are looking for work.

“It’s often the case that people who are looking for work are not able to find the specialist support that they need, but with Philip, we have an expert on hand who is here to do just that and I’m very grateful that he’s here.”

Mr James is at Foghamshire hall every Wednesday between 10.00am and 1.00pm.