A SPECIALIST team of recruitment professionals has been appointed by Remploy to roll out a new employment programme in Kidderminster to find jobs for people with disabilities or health conditions.

Remploy, the UK's leading provider of employment services for disabled people, has been awarded the contract to deliver the Government's Pathways to Work programme across Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire from the end of April.

The new team will work in partnership with Jobcentre Plus to support people with health conditions and disabilities to make the move into employment. They will be based at Remploy's new recruitment branch in Elgar House, Green Street, scheduled to open this month.

With more than 42,000 people receiving incapacity benefit across the Marches, the branch team will play an important part in bringing together local employers and jobseekers looking to move from benefits.

Pathways to Work provides extra help for people on incapacity benefit to find work. It includes support from personal advisers, including additional work-focused interviews, rehabilitation support, a Return to Work Credit of £40 a week and in-work support.

Heading the new Kidderminster branch recruitment team is branch manager, Jemma Saull, of Kidderminster. She worked with students with learning disabilities at Kidderminster College before moving to a four-year role supporting disabled people into work.

She will oversee a team of five specialist recruitment advisers, liaise with partner organisations and community groups to ensure the branch supports hundreds of people with disabilities and health conditions into work.

Beth Carruthers, Remploy's director of employment services, said: "Pathways to Work will be an important service for jobseekers in Kidderminster and it's vital that we have an experienced and qualified team to provide the specialist support required.

"I am delighted that we have attracted such high calibre colleagues to join Remploy, who will ensure hundreds of local people make the life-changing switch from benefits to employment."

Remploy operates a network of town and city centre recruitment branches across the UK.

Last year, the company found jobs for more than 5,000 disabled people in mainstream employment and plans to quadruple that figure to more than 20,000 jobs a year by 2012.