A VOLUNTARY scheme that could see 40 long-term unemployed and disadvantaged people back in work within 18 months will start soon.

The project will help unemployed people gain confidence by finding them voluntary work placements.

They can then build on their skills to find full-time employment.

Darlington Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) is behind the project, called Volunteering Opportunities into Work (Vow), which is expected to be launched in the next three months.

CVS chairman Kevin Richards, who helped devise the project, said it had been created after they noticed a change in the type of people volunteering.

He said: "In the last few years there's been a trend away from the traditional type of volunteer.

"In the past, most volunteers would be people who had retired or whose children had grown up, and now had time on their hands.

"However, recently we've noticed their ranks have been drawn from the unemployed or people who find it hard to hold down a long-term job, for example those with learning difficulties.

"We realised that there was an opportunity here for us to provide a stepping stone for these people."

Funded by £50,000 from County Durham Foundation, Vow is designed to restore confidence to workers in the relative safety of the voluntary sector.

The voluntary placements will be carefully matched to the individuals assessed needs and capabilities.

The project will also provide training in basic literacy and numeracy.

Mr Richards said: "Although 40 new jobs in two years might not sound a lot. When you consider that in Darlington there are around 1,600 unemployed this should have a significant impact."