The third annual Employability and Community Fair at The Salvation Army on St Andrews Square runs from 11am to 1pm and has proved popular with those looking for work and employers since it launched in 2023. Jobseekers will be able to get employment advice, training and volunteering information and look at live job vacancies while 14 exhibitors including East Sussex Colleges Group and Hastings Job Centre will also be in attendance.
The Salvation Army’s Employment Plus service supports people into quality work, not just any job. Employment Plus helps people who face the biggest barriers to employment such as a lack of up to-to date skills, those who have been unable to search for work due to health problems, disability, or homelessness.
Sam Sorrenti, Salvation Army Employment Plus manager for London and South East, said:
“The Salvation Army seeks to transform people’s lives, offering holistic support that has a meaningful and lasting impact on people’s lives, giving them to confidence and skills to get on in life.
“The people we work with often have the greatest barriers to finding and keeping work and need specialist, long-term, person-centred support from services such as Employment Plus. People often come to us because there is no other support available to them.
“Our event on 20 June is an opportunity for job seekers, particularly those who have been out of the labour market for some time in and around Hastings to drop-in and find out how we can help them on a journey to meaningful employment.
“We also invite local business leaders, local agencies, and politicians to drop in and talk to us about the value of working alongside employability services like Employment Plus. By working in partnership together we can offer holistic support to some of the most vulnerable people in our communities, helping those furthest from the workplace into meaningful employment, and having a positive impact on the local economy.”
Hastings is one of several Salvation Army employability events happening across the UK this month, with many Employment Plus services concerned about their long-term funding.
Salvation Army analysis of the Annual Population Survey, Hastings Local Authority and the South East region, people aged 16-64, Jan 2024 – Dec 2024 (Office for National Statistics, 2025) found:
- Approximately 9,800 people were real unemployed (an estimated rate of 19.6%)- 3,400 were economically inactive but wanted a job (an estimated rate of 6.8%), 6,400 were unemployed (a rate of 13.7%). In the South East, an estimated 7.8% were real unemployment, an estimated 4.4% were economically inactive but wanted a job, and 3.6% were unemployed.
- Just 30.6% (3,000) of the 9,800 real unemployed in Hastings were receiving intensive jobseeking support through the benefits system*, meaning Job Centres need to work with the specialist employability sector to reach the people with the most complex needs. This compares to 47.0% (177,200) of the 376,800 real unemployed in the South East.
- 15,800 (16.8%) were economically inactive (including both those that do and do not want to work). The main reason people gave for their economic inactivity includes being in education (3,200, 24.2% of the economically inactive) and long-term sickness and/or disability (1,900, 14.4%). This compared to an economic inactivity rate of 18.4% in the South East; 29.4% were in education, 19% had caring responsibilities, and 21.9% were long-term sick and/or disabled.
*The Claimant Count includes people claiming Jobseekers Allowance and in the intensive work search regime of Universal Credit – this group are looking for and are available to start work and receive jobseeking support, representing a subset of the officially unemployed
In the past 12 months, Employment Plus has fully supported 4905 people across the UK and Ireland on their employability journey. This cohort has completed 14,452 milestones – such as building a new CV, completing a training course or a work experience placement - with 930 of them gaining employment. A further 3421 people were helped with a single intervention, which could include one training session, or signposting for appropriate support such as a foodbank, or housing and social services.
Our Employment Plus service is delivered from 247 Salvation Army churches, centres and hostels for people who are homeless. We are also working in 160 other locations such as at Job Centre plus or other local partners, and 11 prisons.
For more information about the Employability and Community Fair, contact The Salvation Army on 01424 426894