Colin gains skills for life after Rover.(Business)

When thousands of workers were made redundant with the collapse of MG Rover, Colin Walsh thought he had been dumped on the unemployment scrapheap.

After the last 17 years working on the assembly line at the Longbridge factory the 51-year-old, who feared he didn't possess the skills needed to start afresh, found the answer literally under his feet.

Mr Walsh, of Inkerman House, Newtown, discovered help was closer at hand than he thought, in fact directly below the tower block in Newtown Shopping Centre, which houses the base for Working Neighbourhoods (WiN), an initiative run by Pertemps Employment Alliance.

He talked to employment coaches and used the centre's computers to aid him in his job search and preparing a CV.

And his enthusiasm and determination to get back into work impressed managers at WiN so much that he was offered a job working for PET - as caretaker of the Newtown Advancement Centre.

Mr Walsh said: "After all those years at Rover I thought I was on the scrapheap. Fortunately, while I was at Rover they sent me on a CLAIT course where I became computer literate and I think that held me in good stead when I applied for the caretaker job.

"I miss the camaraderie at Rover, but I am so happy here and get on so well with everybody. They are a brilliant bunch of people and it's a buzzing environment to work in - everyone is so positive and work so hard to help others.

"Conveniently for me, I live in one of the flats above so I can be here instantly if there's ever a problem."

One of his more unusual tasks was helping prepare the centre for the recent visit of Conservative Party leader David Cameron to Newtown, accompanied by television news teams, reporters and photographers.

The centre has benefited from a pounds 500,000 refurbishment, funded by PEA, to provide a one-stop employment and advice facility to allow local residents better access to sustainable jobs.

It also offers micro-finance support for business start ups and an online learning facility accessible to everyone in the local community.

Other facilities include the Birmingham Credit Union, a crche, internet caf, bistro and a healthy living centre.

CAPTION(S):

Caretaker Colin Walsh at Pertemps Employment Alliance's Newtown offices