FORMER employees of Wansbrough Paper Mill in Watchet have been offered the chance of employment at Somerset bus company Crosville Motor Services, providing a lifeline to many who lost their jobs when the Mill closed at Christmas.

A recruitment surgery was held at Wansbrough Paper Mill on Monday, January 18, where Crosville’s head of training and recruitment, John Wye, talked to the Mill’s employees about the expanding business and the many vacancies currently available, from administration staff to bus drivers.

He reassured workers that training will be provided where necessary for those interested in taking up the opportunity through the company’s in-house training facility which opened in February 2015.

Four separate recruitment surgery sessions were held over the course of the day, enabling as many people to attend as possible. Presentations from Crosville Motor Services and Mill owners DS Smith were followed by talks from Bristol training company N-Gaged and a trade union representative, as well as one-to-one sessions for those interested.

Crosville said the feedback received on the day was very positive, with many former employees of Wansbrough Paper Mill confirming their interest in working for the company.

Adrian Virgin, who had worked at the Mill for 27 years, said the day had been very useful, as had all the conversations he has had with management in the lead-up to redundancy. He is now very much looking forward to his interview with Crosville and said he particularly liked the fact that he could progress through to other roles within the business.

Following the event, Mr Wye said: “We’ve been astounded at how positively the staff at the Mill responded to the event, with over 50 people attending and more than half of those expressing an interest in working for Crosville Motor Services. Our thanks go to the management team at DS Smith who’ve worked hard to ensure that all staff past and present were communicated with about the event, and who provided the opportunity and environment for us to talk to their staff in a positive manner.”

Jonathan Jones-Pratt, Managing Director of Crosville Motor Services, added: “It was shocking to hear of the closure of Wansbrough Paper Mill last year and the loss of so many jobs. As a growing Somerset business, we decided we’d do anything we could to help those affected by offering them training and employment opportunities at Crosville Motor Services. We’ve had some great feedback from the recruitment surgeries and look forward to welcoming some new staff into the Crosville family.”

Crosville Motor Services is now liaising with DS Smith to arrange interviews for all those who have expressed an interest, with training and employment opportunities expected to start soon.