A NEW initiative has been launched in North Yorkshire to find work for people with disabilities and the long-term unemployed.

The Local Partnership Accord aims to identify and train low-skilled and unskilled adults, improving their accessibility to the labour market. Among the hardest to reach are those receiving benefits.

Now, North Yorkshire County Council, together with Jobcentre Plus, has signed up to the new agreement with a long-term goal of finding work for more people through a range of new strategies and initiatives.

County council leader John Weighell said: "We are tackling North Yorkshire's employment issues by promoting the county council as a major local employer through various marketing schemes.

"In particular, we will ensure that the county council's job application process is as streamlined as possible to encourage applications."

Andy Wilson, of Jobcentre Plus, added: "We want to expand the current partnership working group to include other local authorities and public services to promote a unified approach and better inter-agency working."