Sixty new apprenticeships in IT and business have been created.
From the South Lanarkshire Council Website. 28/10/2010
Successful applicants will get technical training combined with real work in local community projects, charities and social enterprises, leading to specific and transferable industry recognised certificates.
Councillor Chris Thompson, the chair of the council's Enterprise Resources Committee, said: "IT is increasingly a core component in every workplace and requirements for Desktop Support Technicians are increasing.
And with technology occupations forecast to grow four times greater than the rest of the economy for the coming decade this really is a wonderful opportunity for anyone who is eligible to not only achieve a recognised and worthwhile qualification, but also to earn a very reasonable salary."
"I am sure these apprenticeships will be very popular and so I would encourage those eligible to apply as soon as possible.
"This is great news and shows how hard we are working with our partners to bring jobs to the area."
The scheme has been made possible thanks to the Future Jobs Fund partnership with Jobcentre Plus, the council is funding 20 IT and 40 Business jobs with Whitebox Digital.
Whitebox Digital, which was founded in 2005 by David Barker, a successful IT businessman who left school at 16, has successfully run apprenticeship programmes in Newcastle, Surrey and Sussex.
David said: "Working with the council on the Future Jobs Fund has been amazing - the professionalism and drive of the team is enabling us to create and launch the scheme within eight weeks of winning the contract.
"They have helped us connect quickly with the right partners on the ground, are helping us with job fairs and promotions - it truly feels like we're all working as a single team to tackle unemployment in South Lanarkshire."
Whitebox Digital does not require previous qualifications or experience as it mainly looks for the right attitude, aspiration and enthusiasm. However, a good standard of literacy and numeracy is required as well as experience of using a computer.