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Oldham Council's employment team has landed £266,084 to make sure no-one is locked out of work by poor internet skills or kit. The grant, drawn from the national Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund, will pay for a new strand called GOW Digital that will give residents devices, data and one-to-one coaching.

The cash injection follows a December honour that saw Get Oldham Working named best in the country for tailored employment support at the ERSA Employability Awards 2025. Judges singled out the way advisers shape help around each client rather than pushing generic courses.

Councillor Arooj Shah dropped into the service last summer and watched staff match people to training, apprenticeships and permanent posts. She spoke to residents who had moved from long-term unemployment to steady wages after help with CVs, interview practice and confidence building.

One recent route into paid work has been an eight-week NHS preparation course run with local hospitals. Graduates, including people who had always dreamed of caring roles, now wear hospital badges and draw a regular NHS wage.

More than 300 teenagers and young adults packed the Queen Elizabeth Hall in September for the annual Oldham Careers Fair, meeting employers who had live vacancies on the spot. The same event will open its doors again this autumn, giving school leavers a direct line to apprenticeships and traineeships instead of a long queue at the job centre.